In May 2017, ITV plc acquired production company World Productions. As a result of the takeover, the company is now a part of ITV Studios, with ITV Studios Global Entertainment handling international distribution of future series. That same year, ITV Studios also acquired Swedish game show and entertainment programming producer Elk Production, a stake in Danish drama producer Apple Tree Productions, founded by former DR Drama Deputy Head Lars Hermann and Piv Bernth (producer of the hit series "The Killing") who had both left public broadcaster DR (which was the home for "The Killing"), and another stake in Italian film and television producer Cattleya, well known for producing the 2015 crime film "Suburra" and the . Cattleya is also a partner in Vision Distribution, an Italian film distribution company founded in 2016 with Sky Italia, Wildside (owned by ITV Studios' rival Fremantle), Lucisano Media Group, Palomar and Indiana Production.