Lionsgate has entered into what it calls a “strategic investment” for a stake in North Hollywood-based indie prodco Pilgrim Studios.

While exact terms of the deal or the size of the stake have not been officially disclosed, the studio has reportedly taken a majority stake in Pilgrim, headed by Craig Piligian (pictured) and behind such unscripted properties as Syfy’s Ghost Hunters, National Geographic Channel’s Wicked Tuna, Discovery Channel’s Fast ‘n’ Loud, and Fox Sports 1’s The Ultimate Fighter.

Lionsgate says that under the terms of the deal, Pilgrim, founded in 1997, will still enjoy “full creative autonomy under its current management team headed by founder and chief executive officer Craig Piligian.”

“This transaction scales and diversifies our television business by aligning Pilgrim, the market leader in non-fiction programming, with our robust scripted production operations as well as our premier syndication business operating under the Debmar-Mercury banner,” said Lionsgate chief executive officer Jon Feltheimer in a statement.

In the recent wave of acquisitions, Pilgrim had been one of the largest “true indies” remaining on the U.S. unscripted production scene. Craig Piligian was inducted into the Realscreen Awards Hall of Fame last June.

– from Realscreen