NEW YORK - The Walt Disney Co. is selling Miramax Films to a group of investors for $660 million, marking a new phase for a studio that helped launch the career of Quentin Tarantino and push independent movies into the mainstream.
The deal announced yesterday ends speculation that founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein -- who lent the names of their parents, Miriam and Max, to the company -- could regain control of the studio they began more than 30 years ago.
With ownership of the studio passes the rights to a long catalog of Oscar winners, including Shakespeare in Love (1998), Chicago (2002) and No Country for Old Men (2007).
It also comes with challenges, most notably a decline in DVD sales that has put into question the value of Hollywood movie libraries.
Disney had been wanting to sell Miramax since January amid a studio overhaul, deciding that the label no longer resonated with its other family centric brands, such as Pixar and Marvel.
"Although we are very proud of Miramax's many accomplishments, our current strategy for Walt Disney Studios is to focus on the development of great motion pictures under the Disney, Pixar and Marvel brands," Robert Iger, Disney's president and chief executive, said in a statement.
Disney signed an agreement late Thursday with Filmyard Holding, an investor group led by Ronald Tutor, construction magnate and Hollywood outsider. Also pitching in on the deal is Colony Capital LLC, a real-estate investment group, and its chief executive, Tom Barrack. Tutor and his partners put down a nonrefundable deposit of $40 million with Disney on Thursday. Disney said that the deal could close as soon as Sept. 10.
Analysts also noted that the Miramax sale came the same week Disney bought online social-gaming company Playdom for $563.2 million, reflecting the broader shift of people's time and attention to the Web.
"They're dropping old economy assets for new economy assets," said Laura Martin, an analyst at Needham & Co.
Shares of Disney fell 2 cents yesterday to close at $33.69.
Miramax history
The Weinstein brothers began Miramax Films in 1979 and steered it to more than 200 Academy Award best-picture, acting and other nominations for its movies.
• THE FIRST SALE: The Weinsteins sold Miramax to Disney in 1993 for $80 million and stayed on with the company as managers.
• THE DEPARTURE: The Weinsteins left in 2005 to found The Weinstein Co. after years of prickly relations with Disney executives.
• THE DECLINE: With its film profits shriveling, Disney has all but closed Miramax. The company cut the number of annual Miramax releases to three, down from the usual six to eight.
• THE FAILED COUP: The Weinsteins tried to win Miramax back with financing from supermarket magnate Ron Burkle and Fortress Investment Group, but the bid fell short.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement