Cottonwood Media and Federation Kids & Family parent company Federation Entertainment has completed a minority funding round.Founded less than five years ago by Pascal Breton and his associate founders Lionel Uzan, David Michel, Serge Hayat and Stéphane Sperry, Federation Entertainment has production and distribution studios in Paris and Los Angeles and is active in the drama, kids & family, and light entertainment genres. It works on all platforms and major players in the market, and is behind several major international successes including Find Me In Paris, Le Bureau des Légendes and Marseille.

The €16 million round of financing was led by Bpifrance in conjunction with BNP Paribas Développement, Amundi Private Equity Funds, Alliance Entreprendre and Entrepreneur Venture.

Federation says that the funds raised will enable it to launch ambitious and diversified projects and to carry out external growth initiatives in a rapidly developing market. “I am very pleased to welcome this consortium of solid, cohesive companies close to the audio-visual sector as new investors in our company,” Breton remarked.

“After having put in place a number of innovative financing tools for production and distribution, notably with Anton Capital, we are taking a new step to strengthen the Federation’s capacity for long-term development. The objective is to support the organic growth of our investments in production and distribution while expanding our international presence, notably through acquisitions, in order to become one of the leading European studios, with a very active branch in the US.”

Added Nicolas Parpex, senior investment director in the creative industries division of Bpifrance: “We are delighted to stand alongside leading investors in supporting a French champion of creative industries, led by a team with unparalleled talent and experience. The funds raised, historic in their scope for a French audio-visual production company, will enable the Federation to continue its strong growth trajectory and to solidify its international reach and its position vis-à-vis different platforms.”