Weil Gotshal & Manges has deepened its relationship with private equity house Bridgepoint Capital, advising on its £320m sale of independent production company All3Media, as buy-out house interest in independent production companies continues to grow.

The US firm is acting for Bridgepoint on the sale of the TV production house – the company behind high-profile shows such as Shameless and Richard & Judy – to Permira, with private equity partner Mark Soundy leading, assisted by fellow partner Marco Compagnoni.

Permira turned to regular adviser Clifford Chance (CC) with corporate partner Simon Cooke leading, assisted by relationship partner Matthew Layton and CC's head of media, Daniel Sandelson. SJ Berwin partner Rob Day is acting for the management team of All3Media.

The acquisition, the latest in a string of recent instructions Weil Gotshal has advised Bridgepoint on, is an example of growing interest in the fast-consolidating production sector by private equity houses and investors.

Earlier this month Endemol founder John De Mol bought a stake in Shed Productions, while last year, Apax paid £498m to buy HIT Entertainment – maker of Bob the Builder and Barney the Dinosaur. In an even more high-profile move, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Apax bid £1.5bn for ITV earlier this year. The deals have generated lead roles for City firms including Ashurst, Lovells and Olswang.

The approaches follow the implementation of the 2003 Communications Act, which set out improved trade terms between broadcasters and programme makers and ensured independent production houses could retain the rights to their programmes.

CC's Sandelson commented: "It is an example of how regulatory changes can have positive effects on business. Independent production houses are increasingly powerful."

David Roberts, a corporate partner at Olswang, which acted for All3Media for more than a decade until it was bought by Bridgepoint, commented: "Private equity houses are awash with cash and they need to spend it. There has been a lot of consolidation in the TV sector and as the companies have got bigger they have registered on the screens of private equity houses.

"Also, with so many channels, producers with quality programmes are automatically valued as a premium growth industry."