Hollywood
PVR Pictures acquires ‘Fox Catcher’
NEW DELHI: Acclaimed film Fox Catcher which won the best director award for Bennett Miller has been acquired for India by PVR Pictures, the distribution arm of the largest cinema exhibition company in India, at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
Director Bennett Miller, whose previous film Moneyball starring Brad Pitt was nominated for six Academy Awards, has based Fox Catcher on the real-life murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz.
In addition to the Fox Catcher PVR Pictures acquired Alone in Berlin, Our Kind of Traitor, Equals, Untitled Lance Armstrong Biopic, Legend, Civilian, Inversion, American Express, Hologram for the King, London Fields and Visions among others.
PVR joint managing director Sanjeev Kumar said, “PVR believes in not only providing a world class standard of cinema watching experience to the audiences but it equally emphasises on quality content that is acknowledged globally for its viewers. Indian patrons are opening up to recognise global cinema with quality subject matter. This is a very good time for the industry and the Indian audience has a lot to look forward to in the coming months.”
PVR Pictures had earlier brought films like American Hustle, The Wolf of the Wall Street, 12 years a Slave, Her, Nebraska, Lone Survivor, Dallas Buyers Club to name a few; which were major nominations at the Oscars, being testament to, bringing to the new class of cine goers, content driven films.
PVR has a decade long association with international film festivals like Oscars and now it is becoming a leading exhibitor of French Riviera through Cannes.
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.
