IDG-Everbright fund buys Shanghai Film Art Academy
China Everbright (CEL) and IDG Capital Partners have acquired a controlling stake in the Shanghai Film Art Academy for an undisclosed sum.
According to a statement, the investment made through the IDG-Everbright M&A Investment Fund will add value through the construction of a related film and television institute aimed at nurturing growth of the broader industry within China. This effort will include intellectual property incubation, building high-tech movie studios and talent promotion, as well as acquiring independent Hollywood film companies, post-production companies and special effects teams.
The acquisition coincided with the purchase of rights to host the Venice Film Festival's Asia Pacific unit for a period of five years. Established in 1932, the Venice festival is the oldest of its kind in the world. According to a separate announcement, the academy has also entered into a strategic partnership with ANICA, Italy's film industry association.
Established in 2003, Shanghai Film Art Academy is considered one of only two independent educational institutions in China dedicated to film. It offers 15 specialist fields such as film art, animation games and digital design to about 3,000 students.
IDG-Everbright M&A Investment was launched earlier this year targeting a RMB20 billion ($3 billion) corpus, primarily for the support of cultural education and film entertainment in China. The vehicle completed its first round of fundraising with a RMB2 billion investment from a CEL subsidiary and RMB8 billion from other institutional investors. IDG and CEL each made GP commitments of RMB50.5 million.
The academy acquisition and its related overseas growth ambitions reflect an increasing interest in cross-border film investment in China, where the industry is expected to overtake the US in the near term and become the leading global market by movie ticket sales. China box office revenues hit a record $6.8 billion last year, up 49% from 2014, according to government data.
Recent activity in this space includes China's Tencent Holdings and Hong Kong-based telecom PCCW investing in STX Entertainment, a Hollywood production company that has been backed by Hony Capital and TPG Capital.
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