French commercial broadcaster Canal+ has taken a 50 per cent stake in the Kissman Production Group.
Kissman, founded in 1999, is owned by Jamel Debbouze, who headlines his own comedy-entertainment series Jamel Comedy Club on Canal+.
Canal+ and Kissman are looking to develop new TV and digital projects in talk show short formats and longer form series for broadcasters and on-demand platforms.
Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
The move is the latest in a string of investments from Canal+ parent company Vivendi. In 2015, Vivendi took a 26.2 per cent stake in the merged Banijay and Zodiak Media group, as well as majority stakes in Can’t Stop Media, Flab Lab and drama studio La Parisienne d’Images.
It also owns 33 per cent of prolific Spanish drama producer Bambú Producciones and stakes in UK producers SunnyMarch TV and Urban Myth Films.
