Newly re-merged ViacomCBS, of the US, has acquired a 9% stake in Miramax IMAX, the film and TV production studio. ViacomCBS said that $150m of the $375m consideration was paid upfront, the rest over the next five years to be used for new film and television productions.
ViacomCBS’s Paramount Pictures also entered into a long-term distribution contract for Miramax’s film library and a ‘first-look’ agreement for new Miramax film and television projects.
The Qatar-based BeIn Media Group bought Miramax – launched in 1979 by Robert and Harvey Weinstein – from the Qatar Investment Authority and Colony Capital, in 2016.
In a separate deal, ViacomCBS has acquired the remaining equity of Israel-based Ananey Communications Group, having first taken a stake in the company in 2016. Ananey, which operates 11 pay TV channels including The Food Channel, The Good Life Channel, and Ego & Ego Total, was founded by Udi Miron.
