Walt Disney Co. has sold film studio Miramax for more than $660 million to Filmyard Holdings LLC, ending months of talks between the media group and various bidders.
Construction magnate Ron Tutor, investment firm Colony Capital LLC and other individuals are part of Filmyard Holdings, Disney said.
The sale of Miramax includes rights in more than 700 movie titles including Academy Award winners such as “Chicago,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “No Country for Old Men,” Disney said.
While Miramax has continued to pump out critically acclaimed films such as “Doubt,” it is some time since it made big commercial hits such as “Pulp Fiction” and “Chicago.”
“Although we are very proud of Miramax’s many accomplishments, our current strategy for Walt Disney Studios is to focus on the development of great motion pictures under the Disney, Pixar and Marvel brands,” Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger said in a statement.
The sale underscores Disney’s plans to focus its film resources on bigger, franchise film properties such as “Pirates of the Caribbean” and exploit them across various platforms.
“It turns the page on Disney’s foray into non-Disney branded films and completes their focus on franchise properties. They’re also finding promising areas of growth in new media, especially in areas where they can monetize Disney properties,” said Chris Marangi, analyst with Gabelli & Co.
“They are harvesting something mature and using the cash to invest in a more emerging growth space,” said David Bank, analyst with RBC Capital Markets.
The Tutor/Colony deal marks the culmination of a drawn-out sale that had attracted various Los Angeles-based rival bidders, including the Weinstein brothers who founded the studio.
Revelations that Disney was floating a sale of Miramax, which it bought for $80 million, first surfaced in January, and Tutor, chief executive of construction giant Tutor-Saliba Corp, entered into exclusive negotiations in early June.
The Miramax sale is expected to close between Sept. 10 and year end, Disney said.
