Technicolor Sells Post-Production Business ‘To Focus On VFX And Animation’

Emerging from a rough 2020, Technicolor is charting a new course for the future. The France-based media conglomerate is divesting its post-production services and doubling down on its vfx and cg animation business.

Here are the details:

• Technicolor Post is to be sold to Streamland Media for €30 million (USD$36.4 million). Its services will continue uninterrupted, and Streamland Media says employees will remain at the unit. The deal is expected to close in the first half of this year.
• Based in L.A., Streamland Media is the parent company of various post-production business, including Formosa Group, Picture Shop, Ghost VFX, Picture Head, The Farm Group, and Finalé Post. Technicolor Post will be integrated into its portfolio.
• Meanwhile, Technicolor retains its powerhouse vfx and animation units The Mill, MPC, Mr. X, and Mikros Animation. Between them, they operate studios in L.A., New York, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, London, Paris, Adelaide, Bangalore, and elsewhere.
• The studios have recently worked on 1917, Ad Astra, The Lion King, Lady and the Tramp, The Call of the Wild, Dolittle, Elena of Avalor, and The Mandalorian. Forthcoming projects include Disney’s live-action adaptations of The Little Mermaid and Pinocchio, and their Lion King prequel.
• In a statement, Technicolor CEO Richard Moat said that the divestment “is part of our long-term vision for Technicolor Production Services to focus on vfx and animation for the entertainment industry, and creative services and technologies for the advertising industry, which provide the maximum value to our clients.”
• Technicolor’s business has taken a battering recently: last June, facing insolvency, the company filed for Chapter 15 in a bankruptcy court in Texas, amid a restructuring effort in its home country. It blamed the pandemic, which has disrupted its services. Production revenues fell 53.7% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to a year previously.
• The company has faced a litany of woes dating to before Covid, including the abrupt shuttering of MPC’s Vancouver studio, the reported layoffs of hundreds of employees at its Montreal studios, and an indictment on charges of fraud and breach of trust surrounding its acquisition of post-production firm Quinta Industries.