MoonScoop, DQ in $100-Million Co-Pro Alliance

HYDERABAD/PARIS, June 27:
The Indian animation house DQ Entertainment has announced a $100-million,
five-year co-production partnership with the MoonScoop Group that will cover at
least five TV series and two feature films.

The European-Indian
partnership will see a total of more than $100 million spent on the five series
and two features, to be produced in animation or live action. One show or film
is set to be released every year until 2012. The partnership follows previous
collaborations on Casper's Scare School and The Fantastic Four.

One or more of the new
co-productions may feature Indian mythology and characters. New-media content
will also be a focus of the deal.

Tapaas Chakravarti, the
chairman and CEO of DQE Group, noted: “This is an exciting strategic and
functional partnership. There are compelling synergies in working together and
we will jointly produce world-class television productions and feature films,
including those with Indian mythology and stories. I am extremely pleased to
extend our relationship with MoonScoop Group, one of the largest in this
domain, to the next level of association.''

“DQ Entertainment is one
of the fastest-growing and most-respected animation studios in the world and
this strategic agreement will allow each of us to nurture our upcoming projects
to ensure their success in today's highly competitive marketplace,” added Christophe di Sabatino, the co-executive chairman of MoonScoop. “We look
forward to working with them on a variety of projects.”

—By Mansha Daswani