Paris (France) and Vicenza (Italy)—Nov 30, 2016
Ymagis Group Signs Agreement with Italian Open Sky SRL for Acquisition of its Theatrical Content Delivery Activities
Ymagis
Group (ISIN:FR0011471291,
TICKER: MAGIS, PEA-PME-eligible), the European specialist in digital
technologies for the cinema industry, today announced an agreement with Vicenza-based
Open Sky SRL for the acquisition of its theatrical content delivery activities
dedicated to cinema exhibition (“Open Sky Cinema”). Under the terms of the
agreement and subject to the fulfillment of conditions precedent, Open Sky SRL will
transfer the related assets to the Group.
"It’s a strategic move for our company to take over these valuable
assets from Open Sky SRL at a time when we are actively pursuing our market
consolidation strategy in theatrical delivery,” explains Ymagis Group President
and CEO Jean Mizrahi. “Until today, Open Sky Cinema had been acting as a sales
and technical agent for our recently-acquired satellite content delivery
specialist DSAT Cinema in Italy. With a total of 3,300 connected cinemas, we’ve
significantly strengthened our position as the undisputed leader in theatrical
content delivery in Europe and it’s our intention to reap the benefits of
increased synergies within the Group to reach our profit target for this
activity.”
“Joining such a visionary
industry leader as Ymagis is a source of great satisfaction for us,” says Paolo
Dalla Chiara, President of Open Sky. “That is for two main reasons: firstly, they
recognize the value of an organization that pioneered the digitalization of the
cinema exhibition business in Italy. Secondly, we will benefit from the
technical expertise they developed in their own right with undisputable
reliability.”
“Having been successful
partners for a number of years, we are thrilled to become part of a
fast-growing company with a strong international presence,” explains Open Sky
Cinema Managing Director Walter Munarini. “We are now able to make a
qualitative leap in terms of development and performance while positively
contributing to both the Italian cinema industry and Ymagis Group’s growth. It
also involves a consolidation of our role as an integrated operator working
with satellite, on-demand cinema and hard drives. With this merger, Open Sky
content delivery technology will expand across Europe through Eclair while
Eclair’s other businesses – post production, versioning & accessibility,
digital distribution, restoration and preservation – will become available to
our existing portfolio of Italian partners and clients through Eclair Italia.”
Both parties intend to close the deal before the end of the year. Current
Open Sky Cinema Managing Director Walter Munarini will remain on board,
overseeing the daily operations of the Group’s new content services venture in
Italy. He will report to Christophe Lacroix, Senior VP of Eclair. Open Sky
Cinema’s eight employees will now join the Ymagis Group. In addition to this
new venture, Ymagis Group already operates from Rome its Exhibitor Services
activities, CinemaNext Italia, headed by Tony Vagnarelli.
As part of Open Sky SRL, the cinema business unit was created in 2006 at
the beginning of the digitalization of the cinema industry. In 2008, they
successfully achieved the first live event transmission to cinemas in Italy. Two
years later, they initiated the first electronic DCP* deliveries. Today, Open
Sky Cinema boasts a network of 650 connected cinema sites in Italy and delivers
400 feature-length films every year from Hollywood studios and domestic
distribution companies. In 2015, they introduced VPN-based COD (Cinema-on-Demand)
services, providing greater flexibility to cinema exhibitors in their
programming. In addition to handling the logistics around film content delivery,
Open Sky Cinema ensures the transmission of live events, distributes promotional
materials and provides production services for red-carpet events.
