ITV buys US indie Leftfield Entertainment for £212m

The UK broadcaster continues to significantly bolster its production arm, taking an 80% stake in the US indie. The deal has already received regulatory approval.

ITV has “put and call options” in place to buy the remaining 20% of Leftfield, which can be exercised when the deal is three to five years old.

It could end up shelling out a “maximum consideration” of $800m (£471m) for the producer. This is if Leftfield delivers an average annual EBITDA of at least $130m (£78m) between years three and five of the partnership.

ITV claimed that the Leftfield deal makes ITV Studios America the biggest non-scripted producer in the US. Its other assets include Cake Boss indie High Noon Entertainment and Gurney Productions, the outfit behind Duck Dynasty.

Leftfield Entertainment Group was formed when Leftfield Pictures acquired Real Housewives of New Jersey producer Sirens Media in March last year. This was followed by a joint venture deal with former Leopard Films exec Nick Rigg to create Loud TV and a similar agreement with reality producer Jodi Flynn for Outpost Entertainment.

Leftfield Entertainment

The fast growing company, founded by chief executive Brent Montgomery, won its first commission in 2008 and now makes more than 300 hours of unscripted programming a year for over 30 US networks. It has 26 series commissioned for 2014 and 31 projects in development.

Shows including Counting Cars and American Restoration are among its biggest assets, but History’s Pawn Stars is Leftfield’s main calling card. The reality series has topped the network’s ratings for four years and has been commissioned for an unprecedented 104 episodes this year, as well as travelling to the UK, Australia and South Africa.

ITV chief executive Crozier said: “Leftfield is a fantastic success story, rapidly growing from a single pilot to become one of the biggest indies in the US.

“The team has combined creativity with strong production expertise, with over 70% of the business coming from returning series and a pipeline of new ideas coming through in 2014 and 2015 that is really encouraging.”

Montgomery added: “To continue developing aggressively for emerging markets, creating new genres and working with the most talented and inspired producers – both in the US and abroad – requires collaboration and partnership. Our teammates at ITV are in sync with Leftfield creatively and commercially.”