AID Partners Capital makes an equity investment that values Prime Focus World at USD 250 million

LOS ANGELES, March 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AID Partners Capital Limited ("AID Partners"); a private equity firm focused on expansion capital and buyout opportunities primarily in the media and entertainment sector; has made an investment that values Prime Focus World, NV ("PFW"); the creative services business of Prime Focus Limited ("Prime Focus", BSE code: 532748); at USD 250 million. The Hong Kong based private equity firm has made an equity investment of USD 10 million in PFW.

"We have accomplished a great deal in the five years since we founded PFW.  We've broken into Hollywood, built direct relationships with major studios, consistently delivered superior work all while generating a revenue growth with a CAGR of over 68%.  Today it is heartening to see a discerning investor like AID Partners find such worth in our company." said Namit Malhotra, Founder, Prime Focus and Chairman & CEO, Prime Focus World N.V.

The investment further validates strong investor interest in Prime Focus and the huge potential that exists in unlocking value in its subsidiaries. In December 2012, Standard Chartered Private Equity invested USD 70 million in Prime Focus Limited.

"From the initial investment of $43 million in 2008, the business has grown five-fold. This is indeed great news for our shareholders as we fuel our next wave of growth." added Namit Malhotra.

Coupled with AID's recent acquisition of a 100% stake in HMV Asia and its investment in Legendary Pictures (Hollywood's leading media company behind such films as Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise) the PFW investment further underscores AID Partners' in-depth knowledge of and commitment to the growth of the entertainment industry in Asia.

"3D and VFX are now key elements of big budget films. With the increasing budgets of China's tentpole movies, there is a tremendous demand for world-class 3D and VFX services in China." said Kelvin Wu, Principal Partner at AID Partners.

According to the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, China's 2012 box office receipts increased 30%; in majority part due to imported films; ranking China as the world's second-largest box office next to the US (surpassing Japan).  PCR is also the largest 3D market outside of the United States, encouraging the government to relax import restrictions that now allow an additional 14 foreign films to be distributed in China provided they are in 3D or large format. 

"With China's rapid economic growth and the population's desire to enjoy an increasingly better lifestyle, we look forward to working together with Prime Focus to improve the quality of film content produced for the Greater China region and to enable further growth in the entertainment industry." concluded Mr. Wu.

About Prime Focus Limited

Prime Focus Limited, PFW's parent company, is a global leader in media and entertainment industry services, employing over 4,500 professionals in 19 facilities across 3 continents and 4 time zones. We provide end-to-end creative and technical services including visual effects, stereo 3D conversion, and animation through our subsidiary PFW, as well as video/audio post-production, Digital Intermediate, equipment rental, digital content management and distribution, versioning and adaptation to the Film, Broadcast, Advertising and Media industries. Leveraging our Global Digital Pipeline and pioneering delivery model we partner content creators at every stage of the process ensuring work flow efficiencies, cost optimization and creative enablement. Listed on the BSE and NSE of India, Prime Focus has operations in Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, London and Mumbai.

About Prime Focus World N.V.

Prime Focus World ("PFW"), a subsidiary of Prime Focus Limited, provides 2D to 3D conversion, visual effects and animation services for major media and entertainment companies.  PFW has brought its expertise to many wide release Hollywood films, including the upcoming films The Great Gatsby and White House Down as well as previously released Men in Black 3, Star Wars: Episode One – The Phantom Menace, Dredd 3D, Total Recall, Tim Burton's Frankenweenie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Resident Evil: Retribution, Green Lantern, Immortals, Wrath of the Titans, Mirror Mirror, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Avatar.  Prime Focus World has global operations with a presence in key centers of creative content production – Los Angeles, New York, London, Vancouver and Mumbai.

About AID Partners

AID Partners, founded in 2007 by Kelvin Wu and Joel Chang, is a private equity fund present in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Paris, Cologne, Los Angeles and Tokyo. AID Partners invests in buyout opportunities and expansion capital primarily in media and entertainment, retail, and consumer sectors. It is an expert in bridging international business with the Chinese market.

The high profile and award winning investments of AID Partners include Orange Sky Golden Harvest Entertainment (one of the largest movie theatre operators in Asia), Asian Citrus (the largest private fruit plantation and juice concentrate supplier in China), and Legendary Entertainment (one of the leading Hollywood film producing and financing companies which co-produced the Batman trilogy, Superman, Inception and The Hangover sequels with Warner Brothers) as well as the newly closed HMV Asia.

In addition to financing, AID Partners adopts a hands-on approach and works closely with the companies in which it invests. The current investor base of AID Partners includes institutional and high net worth professional investors in the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the PRC.

For more information, please visit http://www.primefocusworld.com/

For more information, please visit www.aidpartners.com.

SOURCE Prime Focus World