Putting the pride into German media.

Variety Magazine writes:

The KKR-backed German media company formed through the merger of Tele München Group, Universum Film, i&u TV, and Wiedemann & Berg Film finally has a name: Leonine.

The company revealed its moniker Friday, saying that “Leonine” met its criteria of being associated with its home region of Bavaria and Munich, in southern Germany, and of being a viable name internationally.

“With ‘Leonine’ we have found a link to Bavaria with its heraldic animal, the lion,” CEO Fred Kogel said. “The English meaning of the word ‘leonine’ is ‘lion-like’ and describes for us above all an attitude – courage, energy, confidence and a strong sense for team play. This is reflected in our corporate values.

“With a great team, we are building a company that creates content that inspires – with passion, experience, expertise and creativity – that attracts creative talent, and takes advantage of the new opportunities of a changing content world. We aim to establish Leonine as a continuously reliable ‘one-stop shop’ for premium content.”

Under the umbrella of Leonine Holding, the businesses will be divided into three divisions: Leonine Production, Leonine Distribution and Leonine Licensing.

The individual production companies will retain their current names: Wiedemann & Berg Film, Odeon Film and i&u TV, the television channels Tele 5 and RTL II, and the SVOD channels Filmtastic, Home of Horror and Arthouse CNMA.

But the other distribution and licensing companies will operate under the Leonine label from the beginning of next year. These include Tele München and its previous affiliates TM International, Concorde Filmverleih and Concorde Home Entertainment, as well as Universum Film.

Besides Kogel, the Leonine Holding management team comprises chief operating officer Markus Frerker, chief financial officer Joachim Scheuenpflug and chief distribution officer Bernhard zu Castell.