Metrodome Clinches Target Deal

LONDON: Just a few weeks after announcing it was abandoning takeover talks, Metrodome Group has inked a deal to acquire Target Entertainment and promises to "significantly invest" in the company.

The British home-entertainment outfit will buy the shares of Target’s distribution business as well as its film and entertainment production labels, Pink Sands and Target US. Not included in the deal is the drama outfit Greenlit. Metrodome says it will invest a total of £3 million in Target Entertainment.

Alison Rayson, Target Entertainment’s founder, will remain as chief executive and has been named to Metrodome’s Board. The merger of the two companies will enable the business to offer content owners and producers a one-stop shop platform for their rights. Combined annual revenues are forecast to be more than £20 million.

Mark Webster, chairman and CEO of Metrodome, said of the deal, "Metrodome has significant financial backing, and we have been looking for a complimentary business to combine with our profitable film distribution operation over the past months. Target Entertainment is a perfect fit, which we predict will double our revenue and the size of the business within a short space of time. We are thrilled to be working with Alison Rayson, who has built Target Entertainment into one of the leading international rights management businesses.”

Rayson added, "Target’s refinancing process has been a tough and lengthy one, however the superb outcome of achieving such strong financial backers for the business in Mark Webster and Metrodome makes it more than worthwhile for the company’s client base and staff. Target’s consolidation into the Metrodome group will provide the company with more firepower for rights acquisitions and with an enhanced back office service. The two companies together will create a market leading independent rights business with a much broader offering domestically and globally. I am thrilled to be working with Mark Webster and his team, and excited about the significant potential ahead."