Hari's Chick
May 16, 2006, 01:47 PM
Film producer is Hand Made for Equator
Published: 16:56 Monday 15 May 2006
Film rights company Equator Group is buying Hand Made Holdings, the company formed in 1978 by former Beatle George Harrison, for close to £15 million.
Hand Made Holdings is the parent company of the HandMade Group, whose core business is rights ownership, film production, merchandising and licensing of the HandMade assets.
It owns the worldwide copyrights to the entire HandMade Library, as well as
the exclusive worldwide exploitation rights to Eloise, one of the best-known
children’s characters in the US.
The £14.75 million deal will involve a placing at 32p a share to raise £10
million before expenses and the company will be re-admitted to AIM and its
name changed to HandMade plc, with a market capitalisation of around £36
million.
Equator (EQG) shares were suspended on 6 March at 17p after the board said it was involved in advance negotiations with a third party that would result in a reverse takeover if successful.
HandMade is best known for its production of a series of hit movies,
including The Life of Brian, Long Good Friday, Time Bandits, Withnail and I, and Mona Lisa.
Two Eloise films starring Julie Andrews have already been produced for
Disney by HandMade, with a third feature film in development, and a 13-part
animated TV series is nearing completion.
HandMade has four operating divisions – library; film and television
production; merchandising, product endorsement and music; and stage shows, and Equator says the HandMade library will be consolidated with the 31 classic and 44 action titles it already owns.
The production division includes new projects and those that are remakes of, or sequels to, titles already owned. To make sure it has a steady flow of
new projects it has a development budget for the acquisition and development of scripts and screenplays, and these projects are eventually sold into production companies, specially formed for the purpose.
However, the newly-formed HandMade will not provide the finance for the
production of new films, but instead will procure and co ordinate finance from third party investors, government agencies, sales agents - by way of pre-sales – and non-recourse lenders.
It says the sources of finance will largely dictate the HandMade Group’s
equity stake in the production companies and it is in discussion with a film
fund manager with a view to creating a fund that would deliver at least 50% of the production finance for HandMade’s films and theatrical productions, as
well as being involved in the funding of marketing, development and
pre-production.
As well as revenues from the sale of developed projects to production
companies, HandMade will also be entitled to a producer’s fee from all productions and to a share in the profits from the completed film.
And, where possible, HandMade will retain the rights to exploit the film’s
music soundtrack and encourage revenues by increasing market awareness of film characters, such as Eloise and the Time Bandits.
An extraordinary general meeting to approve the acquisition and placing is
being held on 8 June, with dealings on AIM expected to start the day
afterwards.
With the news of the takeover in the open market, the shares resumed trading today and closed at 18.5p, where the group is valued at just £5.9 million.
Published: 16:56 Monday 15 May 2006
Film rights company Equator Group is buying Hand Made Holdings, the company formed in 1978 by former Beatle George Harrison, for close to £15 million.
Hand Made Holdings is the parent company of the HandMade Group, whose core business is rights ownership, film production, merchandising and licensing of the HandMade assets.
It owns the worldwide copyrights to the entire HandMade Library, as well as
the exclusive worldwide exploitation rights to Eloise, one of the best-known
children’s characters in the US.
The £14.75 million deal will involve a placing at 32p a share to raise £10
million before expenses and the company will be re-admitted to AIM and its
name changed to HandMade plc, with a market capitalisation of around £36
million.
Equator (EQG) shares were suspended on 6 March at 17p after the board said it was involved in advance negotiations with a third party that would result in a reverse takeover if successful.
HandMade is best known for its production of a series of hit movies,
including The Life of Brian, Long Good Friday, Time Bandits, Withnail and I, and Mona Lisa.
Two Eloise films starring Julie Andrews have already been produced for
Disney by HandMade, with a third feature film in development, and a 13-part
animated TV series is nearing completion.
HandMade has four operating divisions – library; film and television
production; merchandising, product endorsement and music; and stage shows, and Equator says the HandMade library will be consolidated with the 31 classic and 44 action titles it already owns.
The production division includes new projects and those that are remakes of, or sequels to, titles already owned. To make sure it has a steady flow of
new projects it has a development budget for the acquisition and development of scripts and screenplays, and these projects are eventually sold into production companies, specially formed for the purpose.
However, the newly-formed HandMade will not provide the finance for the
production of new films, but instead will procure and co ordinate finance from third party investors, government agencies, sales agents - by way of pre-sales – and non-recourse lenders.
It says the sources of finance will largely dictate the HandMade Group’s
equity stake in the production companies and it is in discussion with a film
fund manager with a view to creating a fund that would deliver at least 50% of the production finance for HandMade’s films and theatrical productions, as
well as being involved in the funding of marketing, development and
pre-production.
As well as revenues from the sale of developed projects to production
companies, HandMade will also be entitled to a producer’s fee from all productions and to a share in the profits from the completed film.
And, where possible, HandMade will retain the rights to exploit the film’s
music soundtrack and encourage revenues by increasing market awareness of film characters, such as Eloise and the Time Bandits.
An extraordinary general meeting to approve the acquisition and placing is
being held on 8 June, with dealings on AIM expected to start the day
afterwards.
With the news of the takeover in the open market, the shares resumed trading today and closed at 18.5p, where the group is valued at just £5.9 million.