Starz Media Agrees to Sell Film Roman Animation Studio to Investor Group

BURBANK, Calif., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz Media, LLC, has reached an agreement to sell its animation studio Film Roman to a group of investors lead by former Film Roman President Scott D. Greenberg. The deal was announced today by Starz, LLC, President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Albrecht, and Greenberg. The terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

The transaction is contingent on certain closing conditions typical of this type of deal. The agreement will have the new owners acquire the ownership interest in Film Roman along with certain intellectual property and development rights. The parties expect to have the final closing conditions met in the fourth quarter.

Film Roman is the premier TV animation studio, producing animation for Fox Television/Gracie Films' "The Simpsons," Fox Television's "King of the Hill," Marvel Entertainment's "Super Hero Squad," "The Avengers" and "Ultimate Spider-Man" and MTV's "Beavis and Butt-Head," as well as proprietary projects such as the new "Dan Vs." for The Hub, the original Dead Space animated features, based upon the Electronic Arts video games, and the hit pre-school series "Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!," on Nick Jr.™ and Noggin.

"We have the utmost respect for the people of Film Roman and the work they produce," Albrecht said. "We wish Scott and his team nothing but success with this new venture."

"Film Roman is unmatched in the quality and breadth of the traditional animation it creates, and with its recent successful move into CG animation, the studio is poised for even bigger growth," Greenberg added. "I'm looking forward to returning to the company where I had so much success and working with our talented artists and executives to make Film Roman the preeminent TV animation company, creating brands that work in a multi-platform environment world-wide."

After leaving Film Roman in 2008, Greenberg and prominent animation producers Mark McJimsey and Joel Kuwahara co-founded the animation company Bento Box Entertainment. The new Film Roman investor group also intends to purchase Bento Box and combine the two production companies, under the management of Greenberg, McJimsey and Kuwahara.

About Starz Media

Starz Media, LLC, is a programming production and distribution company operating worldwide. It includes the Film Roman, Anchor Bay Entertainment, and Manga Entertainment brands. Its units create animated and live-action programming and programming created under contract for other media companies. It distributes that programming, and programming acquired from outside producers, through home video retailers, broadcasters, ad supported and premium television channels, and Internet and wireless video distributors in the US and internationally. Starz Media (www.starzmedia.com) is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Starz tracking stock group (Nasdaq: LSTZA).

About Bento Box Entertainment

Bento Box Entertainment develops and produces animated series and films as well as interactive and new media properties. In addition to providing a full roster of production capabilities to their studio partners, Bento Box develops its own original projects, capitalizing on the principals' close relationships with artists, writers, and other content creators as well as distribution and funding entities. Partnering to head the firm are Scott Greenberg, former President and Chief Operating Officer of Film Roman, Joel Kuwahara, a veteran producer on "The Simpsons," and Mark McJimsey, longtime producer on "King of the Hill." Bento Box is currently producing "Bob's Burger" for 20th Century Fox Television with a 13-episode order from the FOX Network. 

SOURCE Starz Media, LLC