LONDON – Global law firm Reed Smith has advised ITV Studios, which is part of ITV plc, on its acquisition of a majority stake Eagle Eye Drama, one of the UK’s fastest growing drama producers which was launched in 2018 by Walter Iuzzolino, Jo McGrath and Jason Thorp, the team also behind international drama streaming service, Walter Presents on Channel 4.

Eagle Eye, which has been part of Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund since 2019, produces a wide breadth of scripted content from original dramas to adaptations of critically acclaimed international series for English speaking audiences, with its slate including a raft of hit returning shows including ITV’s Professor T and Hotel Portofino, Channel 4’s Before We Die and Suspect, as well as The Couple Next Door, which was Channel 4’s biggest ever scripted streaming launch.

As part of the deal, ITV Studios has also acquired a majority stake in the Belgium-based production services company Happy Duck, led by producer and director Dries Vos (Professor T, The Couple Next Door), which services Eagle Eye’s global slate.

The Reed Smith team advising on the deal was led by corporate partners Philip Taylor, Stephen Mooney and Ravi Pattani with support from Caspar Fox, Thomas Baxter, Georgia Crossman and Alexander Pierce.