[James]

Story about the take-over of Endemol. I assume they mean roll-out the publicity for BB8 next week (does that mean the coming week?) rather than the actual series.

Battle is on to win Big Brother maker Endemol

By Lawrie Holmes

PROGRAMME maker Endemol, which rolls out the eighth series of Big Brother next week, has received a number of enquiries in the run-up to Friday’s second-round bid deadline.

Mexico’s largest broadcaster, Televisa, and a US buyout firm are believed to have joined the players seeking to acquire the iconic global brand, worth up to € 3billion (£2billion).

Goldman Sachs’ private equity arm is working with Endemol co-founder John de Mol’s investment vehicle Cyrte, along with Italy’s Mediaset and its Spanish subsidiary Telecinco.

Stephane Courbit, managing director of Endemol France, is also understood to be attempting a buyout, working with French private equity giant PAI.

Tom Barnicoat, who stepped down as Endemol’s chief operating officer recently, is working with UK private equity group Apax Partners on a separate bid.

Endemol was founded in 1994 by a merger of television production companies owned by Joop van den Ende and John de Mol, the name deriving from the combination of their surnames. Its biggest success has been the Big Brother “reality television” show, with duplicates in many countries launched after the initial Dutch version. It has been sold to networks in 70 countries. The latest UK show will start on May 18 and last for three months.

Daily Express Weekend