Thomson has acquired The Moving Picture Co. (MPC) from British broadcaster, ITV, for £52.7 million (76 million). MPC, which is located in the Soho district of London and employs around 400 people, is an industry-leading provider of vfx and post-production services to both the feature film and commercial advertising industries.
In acquiring MPC, Paris-based Thomson, which also owns Technicolor, cited the rapidly growing worldwide post-production market, which is currently valued at around 4 billion. Moreover, visual effects, in particular, have become one of the highest profile and fastest growing value-added post-production services, representing around 500 million of the worldwide post-production market. In 2004, all of Hollywoods top grossing films utilized visual effects, continuing a trend that has spanned several years.
MPC provides vfx for major Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures. Recent titles include ALEXANDER, all three HARRY POTTER films, TROY, ALIEN VS. PREDATOR and LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER. MPC is currently working on CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, CORPSE BRIDE, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. As a result of its technical and creative capabilities, MPC is expected to continue its leadership position in one of the fastest growing segments in services for content owners. Over the last 12 months, MPC has generated more than £44 million (63 million) in total sales.
MPC is also widely recognized in the commercial advertising industry for producing high-end commercial content for many world-leading advertisers including Nike, Levis, Motorola, Adidas and Coca Cola as well as other Fortune 500 companies and major European advertisers.
The addition of MPC will provide the cornerstone for future growth of Thomsons visual effects offerings worldwide for both feature film and commercial advertising customers. With a strong client base, specialized know how and a stellar reputation with the creative community, MPC will provide a strong complement to Technicolors Emmy Award-winning, Hollywood-based broadcast visual effects and Toronto-based vfx facilities.
We are delighted to be joining the Thomson/Technicolor family, said David Jeffers, managing director of MPC. The advantages of bringing together two organizations which are so focused on service and quality will be a huge benefit to our customers, and will help assure the success of our efforts going forward.
MPCs outstanding team of respected professionals, and reputation for service and high quality expertise, fits perfectly with the goals of our entire group, stated Lanny Raimondo, Thomson sevp, Services. As a key provider to the Hollywood studios of superb vfx work, MPC maintains great relationships with the creative community worldwide, including local U.K. productions, and the strengths of MPC fit strategically into Thomsons best of breed palette of service offerings to our customers.
Thomson (www.thomson.net) provides technology, systems and services to help its Media & Entertainment clients content creators, content distributors and users of its technology realize their business goals and optimize their performance in a rapidly changing technology environment. The Group intends to become the preferred partner to the media & entertainment industries by offering end-to-end solutions to content creators, video network operators and retailers through its Technicolor, Grass Valley, RCA and THOMSON brands.
Technicolor Ent. Services (www.technicolor.com), part of the Digital Content Solutions division of Thomson is the number one processor of motion picture film worldwide and a leading provider of creative/post-production, cinema distribution and digital cinema services.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
