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Category: Business

Million Headline News

Square Enix Buys Tomb Raider Creator Eidos

U.K.-based videogame publisher Eidos has agreed to be purchased by Square Enix for $120 million, per VARIETY. Eidos' biggest franchise is the TOMB RAIDER series.

Warner Bros. owns 20 percent of Eidos, and is now expected to lose about $93 million if the deal is approved by stockholders. The studio invested $30 million in Eidos last year in addition to the $87 million it put up in 2006. Square Enix plans to buy out WB for $24 million.

Dreamworks Headline News

DreamWorks Animation to Switch Stock Exchange Listing to NASDAQ

DreamWorks Animation will voluntarily transfer its stock exchange listing from The New York Stock Exchange to The NASDAQ Global Select Market, an exchange of The NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. The company currently expects that its Class A common stock will commence trading on the NASDAQ on February 26, 2009 and will continue to be listed under the ticker symbol "DWA."

Post Headline News

Post Logic Studios Expands Film and TV Restoration Services

Post-production facility Post Logic Studios, a division of Prime Focus Group, have expanded their film and television restoration services. The company has been managing restoration work for titles such as HONDO and THE RULES OF THE GAME from their Hollywood facility, and has more than tripled its capacity for restoration work through its relationship with Prime Focus in Goa, India. Restoration projects are still managed and completed at Post Logic in Hollywood, however clients now have the cost-effective option of having film clean-up handled in India.

Animation Headline News

Studio100 Launches New Animation Studio

Belgium-based family entertainment group Studio 100 has launched a new animation studio, Studio100 Animation.

Based in Paris, the company's new studio has been established as part of Studio 100's development strategy to create a thriving business in the animation sector through self-funding as well as seeking out co-finance and project development opportuntities.

Heading up the operation is Jo Daris, GM of Studio100 Animation, who will manage the team and spearhead all activities within the division.

International Headline News

Xilam Boosts Sales Force with JC Media

French animation company Xilam has bolstered its international sales force by appointing JC Media (U.K.) to handle three English-speaking markets: the U.K., Ireland and South Africa.

JC Media, headed up by international TV heavyweight John Clutten, is a London-based boutique distributor specializing in the sale of children's programs, feature films and entertainment series throughout English-speaking territories. John Clutten will work closely with Xilam's Paris-based Sales Manager, Laurence Marty, who continues to handling international sales for the rest of the world.

Headline News

Lidar Opens Shepperton Studio

Visual effects company Lidar VFX has opened a new facility at Shepperton in Middlesex, the U.K., to enhance their specialized services in the field of 3D scanning and data capture. A combination of proprietary hardware and software together with highly mobile and specialized crews with a "high speed, low drag" motto enables Lidar to supply clients with an accurate, efficient, and cost effective Data Capture service.

Recent credits include THE DARK KNIGHT, HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE and HANCOCK.

Disney Headline News

Disney, DreamWorks Announce Distribution Deal

The Walt Disney Studios has agreed to enter into an exclusive long-term distribution arrangement with filmmaker and DreamWorks Studios co-founder Steven Spielberg, and partner Stacey Snider, chief executive officer of DreamWorks, to distribute all upcoming live-action motion pictures produced by DreamWorks under their partnership with Reliance BIG Entertainment, part of The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, it was announced today by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.

Time Headline News

Time Warner Posts $16B Loss for 2008

Time Warner reported its financial results for its full year and fourth quarter (ending Dec. 31, 2008) on Wednesday, with an operating loss on the year of $16 billion. That figure reflected a decline of $24.9 billion compared to 2007's operating income of $8.9 billion, due mainly to a $24.2 billion noncash impairment to reduce the carrying value of goodwill and intangible assets.

Games Headline News

Warner Bros. Home Ent. Acquires Snowblind Studios

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group has acquired Snowblind Studios, an award winning, independent game development studio specializing in action and fantasy-based games.

Located outside of Seattle in Bothell, Washington, Snowblind Studios is known for the popular action role-playing games, BALDUR’S GATE: DARK ALLIANCE, CHAMPIONS OF NORRATH and JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES. The studio was founded in 1997.

Headline News

Disney's Income Drops 32 Percent in First Quarter

Disney's first fiscal quarter (ending Dec. 27, 2008) resulted in a 32 percent drop in net income and an 8 percent drop in revenues.

"We faced a challenging first quarter with many of our businesses impacted to various degrees by the economic downturn," said Robert A. Iger, Disney's president and CEO. "We are forcefully confronting current circumstance while investing in the great creativity, brands and assets that are Disney's strengths and keys to its long-term success."

Million Headline News

EA Holiday Quarter Below Expectations, Cuts Continue

Electronic Arts, in announcing its fiscal third-quarter results, lost $641 million on sales of $1.65 billion during the holiday shopping season that ended Dec. 31. Last year, the loss was $33 million on $1.5 billion in sales. The losses stemmed mostly from two one-time charges: a charge of $368 million related to its wireless business and a $244 million charge for a valuation allowance reserve on certain deferred tax assets.

Headline News

Study Backs Robinson's Claim of Plagiarism by Cinar

Quebec Superior Court has given Radio-Canada, LA PRESSE and LE DEVOIR the findings of a study commissioned by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the case of author Claude Robinson against the production company Cinar. The 300-page study concludes that Robinson's work was plagiarized by Cinar. (Via www.Radio-Canada.ca).

The RCMP has had the study since April 2001. At that time, the RCMP conducted a second criminal investigation into allegations of plagiarism by Robinson, who accused Cinar of having violated its copyright by producing the series ROBINSON SUCRO.

Million Headline News

Nintendo's Global Sales Up, Profits Down

Despite nearly unprecedented strength of the yen against major foreign currencies, Nintendo Co., Ltd. on Thursday reported nine-month (April to December 2008) global sales of 1,536 billion yen, an increase of nearly 17% over the same period in 2007, along with 501 billion yen of operating profits, up 27% from a year ago.

Headline News

Digimation Opens New Office in Florida

Digimation, a provider of 3D content and related services to the entertainment and defense industries, has opened its new office in Orlando, Florida, and the addition of two key employees.

"After careful consideration, Orlando was the obvious choice for us," said David Avgikos, president of Digimation. "Not only is it the center of the military simulation community, it also offers an extensive talent pool from which to draw, which is of critical importance as we grow our business."

Marvel Headline News

Stan Lee, Marvel Sued for $750 Million by Ex-Shareholders

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that shareholders from an old Stan Lee venture are looking for a settlement amounting to $750 million in profits from films and other works based on Marvel comic characters like SPIDER-MAN, X-MEN and IRON MAN.

Company Headline News

Entertainment Rights Fined by U.K. Regulators

C21 MEDIA is reporting that U.K. children's branding firm Entertainment Rights has been fined a 245,000 GBP by the Financial Services Authority for failing to disclose an anticipated $14 million reduction to its profit to the stock exchange.

The company owns rights to properties like VEGGIETALES, WHERE'S WALDO?, CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST, THE LONE RANGER, HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, among others.

Headline News

Microsoft to Lay off Workers En Masse for First Time

In the first time in the company's history, Microsoft will perform broad layoffs, according to THE NEW YORK TIMES. Based in Redmond, Washington, the world's largest software company will let go 5,000 of its 94,000 workers over the next 18 months, including 1,400 people this week.

The company reported the cuts as part of its second-quarter results, an 11 percent drop in net income to $4.17 billion from $4.71 billion in the same period a year ago. A sharp drop in sales for personal computers is blamed for the cuts in personnel.

Entertainment Headline News

Disney/ABC Television Group Announces Organizational Restructure

Responding to the changing realities of the entertainment landscape, and addressing an opportunity to streamline the creative process, ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios will be operated as a coordinated business unit entitled ABC Entertainment Group.

International Headline News

Imagi Gets Listing on Int'l OTCQX

Imagi International Holdings Limited has obtained an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program and began listing on the International OTCQX for greater access to the U.S. capital markets.

Imagi International Holdings Limited ADR began trading Thursday on International PrimeQX, under the ticker IINHY. Investors can find real-time quotes, disclosure and financial information about at www.otcqx.com.

Games Headline News

Capcom Signs Development Deal With Monumental Games

Videogame developer and publisher Capcom has signed a development agreement with U.K.-based Monumental Games. Under the terms of the agreement Monumental Games will develop an as yet unannounced multi-platform title scheduled for release and published by Capcom later this year.

Monumental Games was founded in 2005 by Rik Alexander and Rocco Loscalzo and has two U.K. offices in Nottingham and Manchester as well as an operation in Pune, India and currently employs more than 100 people.

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