Entertainment One Finalizes Acquisition

September 25, 2008 World Screen

TORONTO, September 25: Entertainment One has
completed the purchase of the television production companies Blueprint and
Barna-Alper, the international television distributor Oasis, and the Canadian
and international distribution operations of Maximum Films.

The four acquisitions
establish Entertainment One as a fully integrated film, television, music,
sales, marketing and distribution company, with distribution operations and
libraries in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Holland and Belgium.

The company also
controls a growing library of worldwide rights consisting of over 9,300 hours
of programming which will be licensed to both international and domestic
distributors and broadcasters by its international sales operations, Oasis, for
television product, and by Seville for theatrical films.

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The acquired companies
have been integrated into Entertainment One’s Filmed Entertainment Division,
headed by Patrice Theroux, which also includes the U.K.'s Contender
Entertainment Group and RCV Entertainment, which operates in Holland and
Belgium.

“With the closing of
these transactions, Entertainment One’s Filmed Entertainment Division is now in
a great position to pursue a wide range of commercial opportunities,” said
Theroux. “Not only have we created a television company that is a force to be
reckoned with in North America, but we've expanded our theatrical market share
in Canada and positioned the company to grow significantly in international
film sales and distribution.”

Meanwhile, Entertainment
One has appointed Robert Lantos to the board of the company as a non-executive
director, while Mark Trachuk has resigned as a non-executive director with
immediate effect.

Lantos has more than 35
years’ experience in the motion picture industry. He was owner of Maximum Film
Distribution and Maximum Film International, the film distribution companies
recently acquired by Entertainment One. Lantos also owns Serendipity Point
Films, a film and television production company based in Toronto, Canada.

—Anna Carugati