Hollywood
The Edinburgh International Film Festival includes a German Focus
NEW DELHI: As submissions opened this week, the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) announced that a German Focus celebrating the best in German cinema will be part of the Festival in 2014.
The new additions will include a ‘Gala’ strand which will present major UK premieres of both British and international films and a strand of family films entitled For the Family. Genre films and edgy fare from around the world will be featured in an even more adventurous and farther-reaching strand than the previous Night Moves, and the New Perspectives strand will showcase new fiction and documentary filmmaking that raises challenging questions about the medium.
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Strands continued from 2013 include American Dreams; Director’s Showcase; Films on Film and the continuation of EIFF’s strand of films programmed by 16-to-19-year-old Young Programmers for their peers. The Michael Powell Award and International Competition will continue at EIFF 2014 with titles selected from across the programme.
Continuing its long history of championing German cinema, next year EIFF will present a German Focus in partnership with German Films. Since the Festival’s inception in 1947, German films have regularly screened at EIFF. Major retrospectives and premieres of ground-breaking work by renowned German directors including Wim Wenders, Werner Herzog, and Reinhard Hauff have brought German cinema to international attention. The 2014 German Focus will include screenings of new and retrospective titles which will run parallel to a bespoke programme of Industry Events, with members of the German Film Industry in attendance. Further details of the German Focus will be announced in due course.
EIFF Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara said: “Building on the success of our 2013 Festival, we were keen to revisit how we structure the EIFF programme and especially the strands we use to help our audiences find the films they wish to see. With the new strands to be introduced in 2014, we hope to make it easier for audiences to navigate the richness of our programme; to explore the work of the emerging filmmakers we champion at Edinburgh each year, and to celebrate unconventional filmmaking. I’m also delighted to be working with German Films to bring together what will be an engaging and revealing selection of the best of new German cinema.”
Hollywood
Paramount Skydance secures financing for Warner Bros Discovery deal
Debt syndication and new loans push $111 billion merger closer to close
WASHINGTON: Paramount Skydance has taken a major step towards its planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, securing fresh financing and completing the syndication of its bridge loan facility.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company confirmed that the bridge facility has now been distributed among a group of 18 banks, reducing total commitments to $49 billion from an earlier $54 billion. The move spreads risk across lenders and signals growing confidence in one of the year’s largest media deals.
Alongside this, the company has finalised permanent financing arrangements, including $5 billion in senior term loans and a $5 billion revolving credit facility. A previously planned $3.5 billion credit line has been dropped as part of the restructuring.
The loans are secured against key assets, including Paramount Global, Skydance Media and Warner Bros post-merger, underlining the scale and complexity of the transaction.
The financing push follows a competitive bidding process earlier this year, which saw interest from players such as Netflix before Paramount Skydance emerged as the frontrunner. The deal, valued at $111 billion, is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
Adding to the momentum, the company has also secured significant equity backing, including investments from Middle Eastern funds, with support from billionaire Larry Ellison, who has guaranteed the equity portion of the transaction.
Commenting on the development, Paramount Skydance chief strategy officer Andy Gordon said, “Our successful debt syndication and new debt facilities represent another important milestone towards the completion of our acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.”
Once completed, the combined entity is expected to carry net debt of just under $80 billion, reflecting the sheer scale of the merger.
As Hollywood continues to consolidate in the streaming era, this deal could reshape the competitive landscape, with Paramount Skydance betting big on scale, content and financial muscle to take on global rivals.
