20 Jan 2014 08:12
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DQ Entertainment plc
('DQE' or the 'DQ Entertainment')
Method Animation corporate reorganisation
DQ Entertainment plc (DQE), a leading animation, gaming, live action, entertainment production and distribution company, announces that Method Animation, in which DQE holds a 20% equity stake, has completed a corporate reorganisation.
Method Animation, Onyx Films and Chapter 2 have joined together to create On Entertainment Group ("On Entertainment") which has become the holding company for the three French companies. On Entertainment's combined production portfolios, library of titles and group revenues immediately place it as one of the leading animation and film production companies in Europe with revenues of €34m and an operating profit of €5.2m. DQ Entertainment plc will continue to hold a 20% stake in Method Animation.
At the same time as completing the corporate reorganisation, On Entertainment carried out a fundraising of €10 million from a consortium including Ohana Capital, a Canadian corporate investment fund, Gallic entrepreneur Laurent Dassault's holding company LDRP, and AB Group ("AB"), one of France's biggest rights-brokers and the owner of 14 pay-TV channels. AB will provide minimum guarantees to On Entertainment for future TV series.
"On Entertainment intends to create two films per year with significant budgets that are intended for worldwide distribution" said Dimitri Rassam, CEO of Chapter 2.
Aton Soumache, CEO of Method Animation said "We are working on creating a catalogue of characters that can be monetized in various markets."
Tapaas Charkravarti, CEO of DQ Entertainment, commented:"We look forward to partnering with On Entertainment on new productions, combining the unique strengths and resources that the two groups represent."
For further information, please contact:
DQ Entertainment plc Tapaas Chakravarti - Chairman and CEO Rashida Adenwala - Director Finance & Investor Relations
| Tel: +91 40 235 53726 |
Allenby Capital Limited Jeremy Porter / Alex Price
| Tel: +44(0) 20 3328 5656 |
Buchanan Mark Edwards/Clare Akhurst www.buchanan.uk.com | Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000 |
Note to Editors'
On Entertainment's projects for 2014 and 2015 include the feature film 'Paradise Lost' based on the life of Pablo Escobar with Benicio Del Toro and Josh Hutcherson starring in the €20 million budget film. 'Le Petit Prince' animated feature film at a budget of € 57 million euros already closed which is directed by Mark Osborne and slated for a Global release in 2nd half of 2015 . Mark Osborne was at the helm of 'Kung Fu Panda'. These films are facilitated by taking advantage of the unique French funding system.
DQ Entertainment and Method Animation have together undertaken several productions such as Le Petit Prince, Peter Pan, Prodigies, Charlie Chaplin, Le Petit Nicolas, Iron Man (a flagship series of Marvel characters) and several others at a combined production budget of around €90 million. At the same time, Robin Hood Season-1, Second season of "The new adventures of Peter Pan", English-language live-action/animation hybrid TV Series of "The Seven Dwarfs and Me," and several other famous brands are in the development stage .
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