SPE Seeks Buyer for Shine Stake

LONDON: Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is seeking to offload its 21-percent interest in the Shine Group that it acquired in 2005 for £5 million.

Reports indicate that JPMorgan has been retained to seek a buyer for the stake in Elisabeth Murdoch’s production and distribution group. Murdoch herself may acquire some of the interest herself. Shine has ramped up its global presence since SPE made its investment, scooping up production companies worldwide, among them Reveille and Metronome. In the process it has stepped up its local production capabilities and become a high-profile provider of English-language drama, producing such shows as Merlin.