Managers of British TV production house Zenith Entertainment are buying out the firm – with help from quondam media buying baron Chris Ingram.
Ingram was chairman and leading shareholder of media buying/planning and market research network Tempus Group until its purchase by WPP Group, agreed in late 2001. He has since largely retreated from the limelight, becoming owner of British soccer minnow Woking Football Club [WAMN: 07-Feb-02] and using the £64 million he pocketed from WPP to form Genesis Investments.
Now Genesis is one of the backers in Zenith’s buyout, alongside lead investor ProVen. This is the second venture for Ingram’s fund, which has also backed a management buyout at a small football publication.
Zenith, part of commercial network ITV until it was spun off ten years ago, is being taken over by managing director Ivan Rendall and Philip McDanell, one-time md of media group Chrysalis.
Genesis has a pot of £5m and plans to make ten small investments.
Data sourced from: Financial Times; additional content by WARC staff
