China Film, Pegasus Media launch $100m movie fund
China Film, the country's largest movie distributor, and Pegasus Media Group have joined Hong Kong’s Co-High Investment Management to launch a $100 million film fund focused on US-China co-productions.
The China-US Film Co-production Project Development Fund was announced at the annual US-China Film Summit in Los Angeles, Variety reported. It will invest in Sino-US film and TV projects, through the purchase of intellectual property and script rights, screenplay development and down payments for major cast members.
"The film co-production projects must first conform to China's relevant national policies, the co-produced films can be released in cinemas in the US and worldwide and can also be distributed in the digital way," Jianjun Sun, Pegasus Media's president, said in a statement.
Under the agreement, China Film and Pegasus Media will establish a joint venture, called CFC Pegasus Film Integrated Marketing, in addition to an online platform to market the films they produce.
China has been importing a set number of foreign movies on a revenue-sharing basis, or the quota system, since 1995. Only 6-10 foreign titles were shown in Chinese theaters every year between 1995 and 2000. It was not until 2012 that the cap was significantly increased, and now 34 releases are permitted each year, including in IMAX or 3D format. Foreign studios are entitled to a maximum of 25% of the Chinese box office takings. Overall takings hit a record $6.8 billion in 2015, with Hollywood releases accounting for 38.4% of the total.
At present, foreign films are imported through two authorized distributors - China Film and Huaxia Film Distribution - under the revenue-sharing system. Foreign film owners may also sell China distribution rights to authorized local distributors at a flat rate. Several private equity investors, including Hony Capital and CMC Capital Partners, have partnered with foreign players that need help distributing and monetizing their products in China.
China Film is the distribution unit of state-owned China Film Group, which has a 33% share of the domestic film distribution market. It raised RMB4.09 billion ($610 million) through a Shanghai IPO in August.
More on Greater China
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.