Canada’s Bell Media buys Sphere Abacus

Canada’s Bell Media has acquired a majority stake in UK-based distributor, Sphere Abacus.

The deal has been struck via Montreal-based parent Sphere Media International and will see London-based Sphere Abacus become the primary international distributor of Bell Media’s sales catalogue.

Sphere Abacus will continue to be run by managing director, Jonathan Ford, with the deal coming a year after Sphere Media acquired Abacus Media Rights, rebranding it as Sphere Abacus.

Following the close of the deal, the combined Sphere Abacus and Bell Media catalogue will consist of more than 5,500 hours, including The Mightiest, Sort Of, Late Bloomer, Deep Fake and Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson.

Sean Cohan, president at Bell Media, said: “Late last year, we set the expansion of our global content distribution business as a core strategic priority.

“It’s gratifying to see that vision realised through our partnership with Sphere Media and Sphere Abacus. We look forward to continued collaboration with Bruno, Jonathan, and their teams to further grow Sphere Abacus with compelling, global, and profitable storytelling. We’re just getting started.”

“The arrival of Bell Media will enable Sphere Abacus to significantly accelerate its vision of international expansion in content acquisition and exploitation, with the aim of positioning the company among the industry leaders,” added Bruno Dubé, chief exec at Sphere Media.

Ford, who formed Abacus in the wake of Kew Media’s demise five years ago, added: “Sphere Abacus prides itself on listening carefully to our customers to understand their changing programme needs, and the support of Bell Media will help us to further invest to service these.

“Accelerating the acquisition of high-quality content from Canada and other territories, and broadening our relationships with more creators and producers will allow us to offer an even greater range of premium programming.”

The transaction is set to close in the coming weeks.