Cinedigm Receives Investment from HK-Based Outfit

Hong Kong-based investment firm Bison Capital has picked up a majority stake in U.S. content distributor and OTT channel operator Cinedigm.

Bison is acquiring 20 million shares for up to $30 million, giving it a majority of class A common stock and two seats on the board. Bison will also provide Cinedigm with a $10 million working capital loan and will work with the company to refinance and retire its remaining debt.

“Under the leadership of Peixin Xu, Bison Capital has become a major force in the media and entertainment business in China,” said Chris McGurk, Cinedigm’s chairman and CEO. “We believe Bison Capital’s significant investment and potential additional refinancing and debt retirement will be a transformative event for the company, solidifying our position as the leading independent content distributor in North America and opening up significant new growth opportunities for our content, OTT channel/services and digital cinema businesses in China, as well as other emerging markets. We believe Bison Capital is the perfect financial and strategic partner to help take Cinedigm’s unique business model to the next level as a leading global digital entertainment company. At the same time, we believe the exchange transactions with holders of our notes, with whom we are in advanced discussions, will result in a substantial reduction of our indebtedness and allow us to aggressively pursue the opportunities that the Bison transaction enables.”

“Despite its rapid growth, China remains greatly underserved in terms of content quality and diversity,” said Bison’s founder, Peixin Xu. “Through our investment, we will leverage Cinedigm’s content access and distribution capabilities to bring more premium, independent content into the China market. We also see an opportunity to leverage Cinedigm’s OTT capabilities to launch Chinese content channels in the North American market. Our long-term goal is to help build Cinedigm into a leading distributor of global content, as well as help the company unleash the residual value of the digital cinema equipment.”