05/09/2013 - The Swedish film and TV conglomerate acquires production outfit Tre Vänner and appoints its managing director new CEO of its operations

Swedish Stockholm-based production outfit Tre Vänner – literally Three Friends, founded in 1995 by three scriptwriters and co-owners Michael Hjorth, Johan Kindblom and Tomas Tivemark – will be purchased by Swedish major, Svensk Filmindustri.

According to the agreement announced in Stockholm yesterday (September 4), Svensk’s owner Bonnier Growth Media will hold 90% of the shares, and Tre Vänner’s managing director Jonas Fors (photo) will take over as CEO of Svensk as of October 1.

“Svensk is a well-known brand with a catalogue of more than 1,200 films - Tre Vänner is a very exciting production company with a network of creative minds,” said Ulrika Saxon, Svensk’s chairman of the board and head of Bonnier Growth Media. “The ambition is now to realise Svensk’s full potential as a leading European film company.”

“Tre Vänners’ strong performance is due to combining creativity with a business focus,” added new Svensk chief Jonas Fors. “With Svensk’s history and expertise in film production and distribution, we will be able to utilize our resources to further develop, produce and distribute unique stories.”

Founded in 1919, Svensk Filmindustri’s Nordic operations include film and TV production and distribution, film and home entertainment acquisition, distribution and international sales. Headquartered in Stockholm, it has subsidiaries in Norway, Denmark, and Finland. CEO since 15 years Rasmus Ramstad will leave to pursue new challenges.

Aimed to produce films with a local and Nordic flavour – and an international potential - Tre Vänners latest release was Swedish director Jens Jonsson’s thriller Life Deluxe, concluding the Easy Money trilogy from Swedish author Jens Lapidus, which opened last week (August 30) as No 1 on the local charts with 85,000 admissions over the weekend.