Diplomacy

  • Most Popular
  • Most Shared

REUTERS SHOWCASE

India Credit Rating

India Credit Rating

No case for S&P ratings downgrade: Mayaram.  Full Article 

Tax Tangle

Tax Tangle

Infosys to challenge new tax demand of $105.3 million.  Full Article 

Gold Outlook

Gold Outlook

Gold futures to fall past one-month low.  Full Article 

It's a Deal

It's a Deal

Morgan Stanley to sell India wealth management unit to StanChart.  Full Article 

Money Triangle

Money Triangle

Despite curbs, China's vast hot money triangle flourishes.  Full Article 

Buy, Sell or Hold?

Buy, Sell or Hold?

Confused while buying stocks? Get buy, sell or hold recommendations from VantageTrade.  Full Coverage 

Reuters India Mobile

Reuters India Mobile

Get the latest news on the go. Visit Reuters India on your mobile device.  Full Coverage 

EXCLUSIVE-Prime Focus eyes $150 mln in US share sale-sources

Stocks

   

Wed Jul 4, 2012 12:59am IST

* JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank advising Mumbai company-sources

* Offering later in year, may list on Nasdaq-sources

* Film services company worked on 'Avatar,' 'My Name is Khan'

By Sumeet Chatterjee and Olivia Oran

MUMBAI/NEW YORK, July 3 (Reuters) - India's Prime Focus Ltd , a film services company that was instrumental in making such movies as director James Cameron's "Avatar" and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's "My Name is Khan," plans to raise $150 million (8.13 billion rupees) in a U.S. share sale later this year, three sources said on Tuesday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co and Deutsche Bank AG are advising Prime Focus on the planned sale of American depositary receipts, the sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The Mumbai-based company plans to use the money to fund expansion of its U.S. operations, the sources said.

Prime Focus was not immediately available for comment. JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

Demand for Prime Focus' low-cost post-production, visual effects and other services has grown over the last few years. Hollywood studios' use of the company and others like it is also inspiring Bollywood to experiment more with special effects and other technologies, further feeding demand.

Prime Focus supplied 3D visual effects and motion graphic design for "Avatar," according to its website.

Its portfolio of work also includes Hollywood films such as Paramount Pictures' "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra"; broadcast shows such as chef Gordon Ramsay's "Gordon Behind Bars"; music videos such as Madonna's "Girl Gone Wild" and Radiohead's "Lotus Flower"; and Bollywood movies including "No One Killed Jessica" and "Agent Vinod."

The company, little known outside its markets, began in 1997 in a garage in Mumbai with four team members. It first went public in 2006 on the Bombay and National stock exchanges in India, and subsequently bought companies in the United Kingdom and the United States. Its UK unit, Prime Focus London Plc , is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

Prime Focus now employs about 4,500 people.

The depositary receipts are likely to list on Nasdaq, but a final decision has not yet been made, one of the sources said.

($1=54.21 rupees) (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee in Mumbai and Olivia Oran in New York; additional reporting by Tanya Agarwal in Bangalore; Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Lisa Von Ahn)

Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.