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Abu Dhabi now eyes Hollywood
The Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) is eyeing investment opportunities in film-making as hedge funds abandon Hollywood and studios scramble to raise new financing, the company's chief executive said.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:52 September 16, 2008
Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) is eyeing investment opportunities in film-making as hedge funds abandon Hollywood and studios scramble to raise new financing, the company's chief executive said.
The state-owned company plans to grow through joint ventures and acquisitions as it seeks to become a global player.
"The timing is good. The hedge funds' money flooding Hollywood led to a bubble ... Money is not flowing," Edward Borgerding told Reuters in an interview late on Monday. "Now there's less pressure on actors and movies can be made at lower production costs with good quality."
Earlier this month, the company set up Imagenation Abu Dhabi, a film unit that plans to spend some $1 billion over the next five years to develop, finance and produce content for both the global and Arabic-language markets.
New fund
It also set up a $250 million fund in partnership with Los Angeles-based Participant Media.
"This is just the first partnership. Next month we will announce two more partnerships with Western companies that would broadly be similar in structure to the one with Participant Media," Borgerding said. He did not name the companies.
"We are a company that companies think of when they have opportunities. I do see media investments in companies happening," he said.
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