Hollywood
Teamwork Production to organise festival for first time filmmakers in Singapore
MUMBAI: Teamwork Production has announced that the first edition of its Asian Festival of 1st Films (AFFF) event will be held in Singapore from 23-30 November 2005.
Planned as an annual feature, this Film & Documentary Festival will celebrate excellence of first time producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, actors and documentary makers from the Asian diaspora.
To be held in Singapore as an event of the Asia Media Festival, the seven-day festival will provide a stage for emerging Asian film talent to excel on an international platform.
The festival comprises of a competition segment and a non-competition programme. It aims to recognise talent in eight categories: Film (Producer); Director; Cinematographer; Actress; Actor; Writer; Documentary and Director of Documentary.
The competition is open to film and documentary makers of Asian origin, spanning 7 continents and 152 countries of the world. The films can include any Asian language and should enter the competition as a world premiere and must not have been released commercially outside the country of its origin.
An eminent selection committee comprising reputed filmmakers, critics and documentary producers will view submissions and select up to 56 films for the festival of which 32 will be in the competition section. Further a jury of film and documentary personalities will be invited to the festival to judge the best in each category.
The festival partners include Media Development Authority of Singapore; Golden Village Singapore Film Society; Asia Media Market – Reed Midem.
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.
