Target Acquires Minotaur, Strikes Up Virgin Media Partnership

LONDON, July 26: Target
Entertainment has acquired Minotaur International, Virgin Media Television’s
(VMtv) distribution arm, for an undisclosed sum, and has inked a long-term
strategic partnership with the company.

In addition to acquiring
Minotaur and its entire catalogue, Target will act as the preferred worldwide
distribution partner for VMtv’s future commissioned content, and will work to
build VMtv relationships in the U.S. The partnership also involves a key
relationship with SMG Productions, who Minotaur has represented since 2000.
Target will continue to market SMG’s current and future programming.

Announcing the deal,
Alison Rayson, the CEO of Target, said: “Minotaur is one the U.K.’s most
established and admired independent distributors. Its library, like Target’s,
is multi-genre and considerable in scale, making it a superb strategic fit as
an acquisition. This is a hugely exciting time for Target and we are now on the
threshold of major expansion. The acquisition of Minotaur and the new strategic
partnership with VMtv are a real coup for the company and mark the beginning of
the next stage in our growth strategy.”

Jonathan Webb, the
managing director of Virgin Media Television, added: “VMtv wants to do more
than just maximize the value of our international rights. The U.S. is a
critical source of talent, ideas and production finance, and I want us to have
a much stronger presence there. Target is the ideal partner for us to achieve
both objectives.”

With the acquisition,
Target is now recruiting a managing director as well as a U.S.-based scout for
both VMtv and Target Entertainment. Funding was raised by Target Entertainment
through Electra Quoted Management, a company investment specialist. Electra
will receive a 40 percent share of the enlarged company and hold a position on
the board.