The Inbetweeners producer bought by Zodiak Media Group

The independent producer behind The Inbetweeners has been bought by Zodiak Media Group, joining a stable of companies that also includes the producer of Wife Swap. Bwark was set up by former Channel 4 commissioning editors Iain Morris and Damon Beesley , who went on to write and produce three series of The Inbetweeners for E4. A big-screen version of the comedy will be released next month. In a joint statement, Beesley and Morris said: "It's the start of a new chapter for Bwark and we could not be more excited about working together with [Zodiak]. "We're looking forward to benefiting from the Zodiak group's global network to build on our existing successes and future hit comedies. With the announcement of this deal and The Inbetweeners Movie released next month, it feels like a landmark summer for Bwark." Zodiak is part of Italy's De Agostini Group and includes 45 production companies in 18 countries including the US, UK, France, Italy and Spain. It bought Wife Swap producer RDF Television in June last year . Mark Lesbirel, currently director of publishing and home entertainment at Zodiak Rights, will join Bwark as managing director. Bwark joins the group's UK, Netherlands and Belgium division run by divisional chief executive Joely Fether. Fether said: "Since they founded Bwark seven years ago, Iain and Damon have firmly established their position as two of the UK's most talented comedy writers and producers. "The Inbetweeners sits proudly among the best classic comedy series of the last decade and it's incredibly exciting to have their talent and ability within the Zodiak Group. We are hugely excited about working with Iain and Damon to grow our comedy output in the UK and, over the coming years, in the US as well." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook