Thomson buys MPC for £53 million

Industry giant Thomson has acquired The Moving Picture Company (MPC) from ITV for £52.7 million (€76 million).
The Moving Picture Company, which is located in the Soho district of London and employs around 400 people, is an industry-leading provider of visual effects (VFX) and postproduction services to both the feature motion picture and commercial advertising industries.
The worldwide postproduction market is growing rapidly, currently valued at around €4 billion, while visual effects have become one of the highest profile and fastest growing value-added postproduction services, representing around €500 million of the worldwide postproduction market.
In 2004, all of Hollywood’s top grossing films utilised visual effects, continuing a trend that has spanned several years, and 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'. As a result of its unique 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 over £44 million (€63 million) in total sales.
MPC is also widely recognised 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 Thomson’s visual effects offerings worldwide for both feature film and commercial advertising customers. With a strong client base, specialised know-how and a stellar reputation with the creative community, MPC will provide a strong complement to Technicolor’s 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 organisations 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”.
Lanny Raimondo, Thomson Senior Executive Vice President, Services, added: “MPC’s outstanding team of respected professionals, and reputation for service and high quality expertise, fits perfectly with the goals of our entire group.
“As a key provider to the Hollywood studios of superb VFX work, MPC maintains great relationships with the creative community worldwide, including local UK productions, and the strengths of MPC fit strategically into Thomson’s 'best of breed' palette of service offerings to our customers.”
(GB)