Shemaroo looking to raise Rs 100 cr through pvt equity route

Entertainment major, Shemaroo Entertainment, is in talks with private equity players to raise Rs 100 crore for fuelling its expansion programme, a top company official said.Shemaroo hopes to seal transactions within the next six months.The company is mulling over diluting a portion of its equity to raise funds from private equity players.

Shemaroo, an integrated film production, post-production, distribution and animation player, would utilise the funds raised to enhance and strengthen its existing verticals.Shemaroo also plans to expand its films acquisition and distribution rights business.

India's first cinema VC fund all set for debut

Cinema Capital Venture Fund, (CCVF) reckoned to be India's first regulated entertainment venture capital fund, promises to provide the Indian investor a unique investment opportunity in the fast growing film entertainment sector.The fund will be launched shortly with a corpus of Rs 500-700 crore.

CCVF will be a close-ended fund and will look to invest in a broader spectrum of the entertainment industry and not restrict itself to financing just films.Ernst & Young, which has structured the deal is confident of the fund’s showing.

There are a couple of funds in the business such as The Indian Film Company, that raised $110 million from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of London Stock Exchange and Pyramid Saimira said to be raising a $150 million entertainment fund soon. Ranbaxy promoters led financial services business Religare Enterprises.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

UTV New Media acquires 76% stake in IT Nation

UTV New Media, the digital media arm of UTV Software Communications, today announced its foray into the digital media space with the acquisition of a controlling stake of 76 per cent in 'IT Nation', a leading online infomediary, for Rs 15 crore.

UTV New Media envisages an investment of around Rs 120 crore over the next two years into the internet space with a portfolio of 10 portals. UTV will acquire 20,000 music titles, including Jodhaa Akbar and upcoming Akshay Kumar starrer movie.

The investment will also include online technology space with IT Nation and in the online business space with UTVi.Com, the business website for the recently launched UTVi business channel.

The intention is to create digital assets such as images, music, ring tones and videos for the catalogues. Also in place are relationships and arrangements with 65 mobile operators across the world to distribute the mobile content.

Reliance Big ties up with Clooney, Cage, Hanks & Pitt

Reliance Big, the entertainment arm of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, on Sunday took a giant leap into Hollywood by entering into a slew of development deals with production houses promoted by leading Hollywood names such as George Clooney, Nicholas Cage, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Chris Columbus, Jim Carrey and Jay Roach.

The move is in line with the company’s vision of becoming one of the largest entertainment conglomerates in the world. The Hollywood entities involved in the development deals, brokered by Los Angeles-based Creative Artists Agency, are Cage’s Saturn Productions, Carrey’s JC 23 Entertainment, Clooney’s Smokehouse Productions, Columbus’ 1492 pictures, Hanks’ Playtone Productions, Pitt’s B Entertainment and Roach’s Everyman Pictures.

Reliance Big is hoping to have a slate of 10 films, estimated at around $1 billion, ready for release by 2010. The above-mentioned actors will be responsible for the creative aspects—script, casting and production.The company sees the development deals as the first major investments in Hollywood and a building block in the creation of a virtual studio or a new-generation media company, and an integral part of the company’s long-term strategy for media investments in Hollywood, to become a fully-integrated movie company with substantial holdings in production, distribution and exhibition. The deals also ensure that the company will have the complete Indian rights for the films that Reliance Entertainment co-finances.

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ADAG goes to Hollywood with blockbuster plans

ADAG goes to Hollywood with blockbuster plans

In an audacious foray into Hollywood, Reliance Big Entertainment (RBEL), the entertainment arm of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), is learnt to be in negotiations to produce three major movies featuring mainstream Hollywood stars. A large delegation from ADAG is currently preparing for a major international announcement on May 19 at the Cannes film festival, where these plans will be unveiled. This will be the first time an Indian entertainment firm makes an entry into Hollywood.

RBEL could announce a slew of international films. The group is trying to rope in Hollywood actors like Tom Cruise, George Clooney and Will Smith. The buzz is that ADAG is also trying to line up Angelina Jolie for the announcements at Cannes.

The movies will target the global audience and will be mainstream Hollywood releases.The estimated deal size is said to be in the region of $300 million, one of the biggest inked by an Indian entertainment company.

It is unclear whether the company is planning to ink deals with Hollywood studios or with the stars themselves. It is also not clear if the Hollywood stars will finally make an appearance at the ADAG event at the festival.

Recently, RBEL, which runs cinemas in India through its Adlabs subsidiary, entered the US market under the brand name ‘BIG’. The company has acquired more than 200 theatres across 28 locations in North America, including New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, San Jose, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Seattle.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Pyramid Saimira to invest Rs 4 bn in China JV

Cinema chain operator Pyramid Saimira Ltd plans to invest close to 4 billion rupees in the current fiscal year in its joint venture with the China Society Music Research Board.

The Indian firm had signed a preliminary agreement with the Chinese entity, which is under the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, to form Jiangsu Pyramid Longzhe Group.

The joint venture will operate theatres, distribute films and engage in other entertainment, arts and cultural activities in China, it said in a statement. It would also launch one screen a day in Mainland China and generate non-box office revenues too.

ADAG acquires Hollywood film restorer

In its first acquisition in the digital services space, ADAG’s Reliance Big Entertainment has acquired US-based DTS Inc’s Digital Images Business (DDI) for about $7.5 million.

DDI popularly known as Lowry Digital Images, is a well-known independent restoration firm in Hollywood, providing picture quality improvement services and digital restoration.

It’s body of work includes over 300 well-known feature films — Casablanca, Singing in the rain, Sunset Boulevard, Indiana Jones trilogy, Star Wars Trilogy, James Bond classics — with output to DVD, 35mm film, digital cinema and Imax.

Industry observers said that this acquisition would help Reliance Big Entertainment to cater to the rapidly growing 3D content market with technology solutions for correction in original stereoscopic footage as well as re-rendering of 2D footage into 3D.

DDI recently provided custom image processing services for New Line Cinema and Walden Media’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth 3D, the world’s first digitally captured stereoscopic live action film shot in digital 3D.

Read more in The DNA Money article.

Future`s PE arm picks up 10% in Percept for Rs 65 cr

Indivision, the private equity arm of Future Capital, is picking up a 10 per cent stake in Percept Ltd, the flagship company of the Percept group, for nearly Rs 65 crore.The deal values Percept, an entertainment, media and communications player, at Rs 650 crore.

Percept has a presence in advertising, public relations, media communications, film and TV content production and distribution, talent management, sports and events marketing in India and West Asia.

The investment will provide significant synergies to the Future Group, which has a large advertisement budget and aligns well with group’s businesses such as Future Media, which has interests in media and advertising.

Group company Future Ventures is said to have created three joint ventures with Percept in the field of media buying, Bollywood-themed retail and entertainment & investor relations management businesses. Future Capital officials declined to comment on the deal.The Rs 1,700 crore Indivision has invested in many companies such as kidswear manufacturer and marketer Liliput, beauty and wellness chain VLCC, construction firm BE Bilimoria and wine producer Sula Wines among others.

NDTV in talks with NBC for stake sale

Indian television company NDTV is in advanced stages of negotiations with NBC Universal, a subsidiary of New York Stock Exchange-listed General Electric to sell between 25 and 30 per cent in its UK-based subsidiary NDTV Networks Plc.This would be NDTV’s first strategic partner in the broadcasting business if the deal, valued at between Rs 650 crore and Rs 800 crore, goes through.

NDTV Networks is the umbrella organisation for group companies such as NDTV Imagine (a Hindi entertainment channel), NDTV Lifestyle (an English TV channel), NDTV Convergence (web and mobile company) and NDTV Labs (software and technology company).It also holds a 50 per cent stake in NGEN Media Services Pvt Ltd, the 50:50 joint venture with Genpact for NDTV’s media process outsourcing business.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Walt Disney on prowl for Indian acquisition

It could be the mother of all deals in the media and entertainment sector in India. And it involves none other than global media and entertainment giant Walt Disney.A year after Disney bought a 14.85% stake in UTV,it is reported that Disney is on the prowl again.

As for names, sources said that it could possibly be UTV because Walt Disney already has 14.85% stake in UTV which they bought last year for Rs 65 crore and that they maybe interested in hiking that stake. If they do want to hike the stake, they would have to buy it from the promoters and the promoters, led by Ronnie Screwvala, have 30% stake in UTV. Out of this 17% is locked in which means that technically they can sell 13% in UTV to Walt Disney.

Read more in The Moneycontrol article.

SRK to buy10% pie in Bag Glamour

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri Khan will buy 10 per cent stake in BAG Glamour, the new entity promoted by Anuradha Prasad. BAG Glamour, which will soon launch channels in the entertainment and lifestyle space, is part of the the parent company BAG Films & Media Ltd.

Sources confirmed the development adding that the actor and his spouse will hold the stake in their personal capacity.

The other investors in BAG Glamour will be India Bulls’ promoter Sameer Gehlaut, who will buy 15 per cent, Kolkata-based private investor High Growth will have 15 per cent, and the remaining 60 per cent will be held by the parent company and promoters such as Anuradha Prasad, Rajiv Shukla among others.