The Cinesite group, one of the world’s largest independent visual effects and animation studio collectives, today announced a series of transactions which will result in a US$235 million funding package. This support will enable the company to continue its organic and acquisition revenue growth over the next few years, further develop its talent pool and serve its customers with creative innovation and reliability.
“Across the Cinesite group, we are very well positioned with significant opportunities to capitalize on increasing demand from Hollywood studios, production companies and streaming services,” said Cinesite group CEO Antony Hunt. “The platform we have built over the last few years coupled with the three decades of experience, world-class talent and trusted reputation will help us greatly in scaling and widening the scope of our business.”
NatWest Corporate Bank led the financing alongside Barclays, who are the company’s longstanding bankers, with flexibility to allow more institutions to join the banking club as required. The overall package includes, debt, equity and mezzanine lines from existing shareholders.
“Continuing our strong support to the sector, we are delighted to lead the arrangement of this package of funding for the Cinesite group. The business has a well-established track record and an outstanding reputation for producing high quality animation and VFX,” said David Munoz, Director of Technology, Media & Telecoms at NatWest Corporate Banking.
Richard Green, Relationship Director, Technology, Media & Telecoms at Barclays Corporate Banking, noted, “We have had an excellent relationship with Cinesite for over 10 years and are pleased to be able to support their future growth. This deal highlights our ongoing commitment to the business, as well as the sector as a whole, and we look forward to their continuing success.”
The Cinesite group, which has grown its revenue fourteen-fold since 2014, will use the funding to accelerate its growth by offering clients greater creative capacity, allowing the company to enter new geographies and business segments while building on its studio partnership model to expand its talent base and global footprint.
Cinesite is an award winning studio group with more than 30 years of industry experience. Its expanding capacity of over 2,500 artists and technicians serve Hollywood studios, streaming services and international production companies. Headquartered in London, the Cinesite group also has facilities in Montreal and Vancouver alongside partner studios in Berlin, Munich (Trixter), Belgrade, Skopje (FX3X), Montreal (Squeeze Animation & L’Atelier Animation), Quebec City (Squeeze), Mumbai (Assemblage Entertainment) and Vancouver (Image Engine), enabling it to scale to thousands of VFX and animation artists worldwide.
Hans Oerlemans, Managing Director of investment platform Gryphion, concludes: “As a long-standing investor seeing the achievements of Cinesite during our tenure made it an easy decision to continue our support. The company is well known for consistently delivering the top quality that is needed in this market and as investors our experience is the same — a management team that delivers.”
Recent Cinesite group credits include animated features Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and The Addams Family 2, animated Marvel shorts series I Am Groot, as well as VFX for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Willow, The School for Good & Evil, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Witcher S2, Matilda, Thor: Love & Thunder, The Book of Boba Fett and She-Hulk.
The studios are currently in production on projects including animated series Iwaju (Disney+), animated feature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Nickelodeon), Foundation S2 (Apple), Poirot (20th Century Studios) and The Witcher S3 (Netflix).
