• by David Goetzl , February 15, 2008

UK production house Shine, run by Rupert Murdoch's daughter, has completed its acquisition of the Hollywood company that produced hits such as "The Office" and "Ugly Betty."

The firm, Reveille, was launched by Ben Silverman, now the head of programming at NBC. The sale might alleviate some questions as to whether the executive would favor programming developed by the company. At the same time, while he will no longer have a future financial interest in Reveille (Shine) productions, he will hold one in shows made during his tenure. Shine said it would keep Reveille's management team that worked under Silverman--a group that includes Chris Grant, Mark Koops, Howard T. Owens and Lee Rierson.

The combined company will take on the new moniker Shine Reveille, giving the British company a foothold in the U.S. The two companies have worked together, with Shine bringing Reveille shows to the UK, such as MTV's "Date My Mom."

Reveille, in turn, has been successful at taking formats from overseas, such as the UK's "The Office," and bringing them to the U.S. Shine chief executive Elisabeth Murdoch said: "Reveille is a unique production company. Their creativity, drive and track record in production and distribution is unrivalled in the U.S. and internationally. The business that they have built is universally admired. They are a cultural and commercial fit with us, and I'm excited about the potential that their joining us brings the Shine Group."

Murdoch launched Shine seven years ago.