The numbers come first. The merger of Banijay and All3Media carries an $8 billion price tag, spans 25 countries, and brings together more than 170 production and live-events companies under a single roof. When the dust settles, Banijay Entertainment will hold the title of the world's largest independent production company — and Abu Dhabi's fingerprints are all over the deal.
Zucker puts his credibility behind Gulf capital
Jeff Zucker, CEO of RedBird IMI — the joint venture between New York's RedBird Capital Partners and Abu Dhabi's International Media Investments (IMI) — was instrumental in closing the transaction. He will now serve as chairman of Banijay Entertainment. Speaking after the deal was announced, Zucker did not mince words: 'The UAE has been a fantastic investor, a great shareholder, and that's because they are interested in media. They're patient with their investments, and they're willing to take chances on the global stage.'
For a media industry that has spent years watching legacy revenues erode, that combination — patience and appetite for risk — is exactly what outside capital is supposed to provide.
RedBird IMI had already acquired All3Media in early 2024 for £1.15 billion, its largest deal at the time. The Banijay merger is the logical next step in a strategy built around scale, global reach, and diversification into live events and experiences.
Live events, sports, and Gulf ambitions
Zucker has been consistent in his view that live events represent a critical growth vector. Banijay has already demonstrated the capability: the company produced the opening ceremonies for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in February and for the FIFA World Cup held in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Looking ahead, Zucker pointed directly to Saudi Arabia's hosting of the 2034 FIFA World Cup as an opportunity Banijay hopes to be 'part of.'
Beyond sports, Zucker flagged gaming and immersive entertainment as expansion targets — sectors where both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are committing multi-billion-dollar investments to build regional hubs. Banijay's existing productions in the UAE are set to continue, and Zucker noted the 'tremendous number of stories from the region that have yet to be told.'
The Telegraph episode casts a long shadow
Not every chapter in this story has been clean. In November 2025, RedBird IMI was forced to abandon its final £500 million bid for The Telegraph after the U.K. government enacted new rules restricting foreign state ownership of media companies. Under that structure, Abu Dhabi-based IMI would have taken a 15% stake in Telegraph Media Group. Political opposition killed the deal.
The episode is a reminder that Gulf capital, however patient and well-capitalized, still runs into regulatory and political walls in certain Western markets. The Banijay path avoids that minefield by operating through a commercial structure rather than acquiring a nationally sensitive news institution.
CEO Times take
Free enterprise does not care about the passport of the investor — it cares about the quality of the capital and the clarity of the rules. Abu Dhabi's IMI has demonstrated both patience and strategic seriousness in a media sector where short-term thinking has destroyed more value than any recession. The Banijay Entertainment platform — 25 countries, 170-plus companies, live events from the Olympics to the World Cup — is what serious long-term capital can build when it is not chasing a quarterly print.
The Telegraph failure was a political decision dressed up as a regulatory one. The Banijay success is a market decision dressed up as nothing at all. Capital rewards clear rules, and in this case the rules were clear enough to get an $8 billion deal across the finish line. The market has already voted.
