Rainmaker Income Fund has agreed to sell its visual effects divisions to Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. Deluxe will take control of the Vancouver-based Rainmaker Visual Effects and Rainmaker Post, and Rainmaker’s London visual effects facility. The sale does not include Rainmaker Animation in Vancouver, and will allow Rainmaker to concentrate solely on CG animation and content ownership.
Currently in the CG pipeline at Rainmaker Animation is Escape From Planet Earth, a theatrical feature film for The Weinstein Co. The company is also in development on a stereoscopic 3-D feature film trilogy based on ReBoot, the groundbreaking, computer-animated television series created by Canada’s Mainframe, which Rainmaker acquired in July of 2006.
‘This acquisition will only enhance the stature of the industry in Vancouver,’ says Rainmaker CEO Warren Franklin. ‘The completion of the sale to Deluxe will allow Rainmaker Entertainment to fully focus on becoming a world leader in computer animated films and to accelerate the development of its own film properties. Vancouver, with its strong talent pool, excellent training facilities and robust industry incentives is poised to be at the forefront of digital technology and creative growth.’
A wholly-owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc., Deluxe Entertainment Services Group provides motion picture film processing, printing and distribution among other entertainment industry services and technologies to major Hollywood Studios and an international client base. The company has facilities Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Rome, Florence, Madrid and Barcelona, and will soon expand to New York. Its acquisition of Rainmaker’s effects units is expected to close on Dec. 31, subject to the approval of Heritage Canada and other customary conditions.
