Purchased by IDT Ent. in late 2003, Canadian CG animation house Mainframe is again changing hands. The 62% of outstanding shares held by IDT and its affiliates will be bought out by fellow Canadian 3D animation and visual effects company Rainmaker, a subsidiary of Rainmaker Income Fund. The acquisition, which is expected to close on July 31, will combine the businesses of Mainframe and Rainmaker Animation & Visual Effects.
Warren Franklin, president of Rainmaker Animation & Visual Effects, will replace Mark Prior as CEO and a Trustee of Rainmaker, effective immediately. He and current Mainframe CEO Rick Mischel will jointly run the combined company, which will employ more than 300 artists and technicians and will leverage Rainmaker’s facility in the London, England and Mainframe’s Los Angeles office. Barry Chambers, president of Rainmaker Limited Partnership will continue to oversee Rainmaker’s lab and post-production services
“The blending of our two businesses will be good for both our clients and our staff,’ says Mischel. ‘Mainframe’s animators will provide Rainmaker with additional creative talent and at the same time, will benefit greatly from access to Rainmaker’s pipeline, state-of-the-art film lab and proprietary technology. We’ll also be more nimble in our plans for developing intellectual properties, especially with our return to Canadian ownership.”
Prior to joining Rainmaker, Franklin held positions at Lucasfilm Ltd, Colossal Pictures, Cinesite/Kodak and Pinnacle Studios. He created the Lucasfilm Entertainment Group and served as group VP, overseeing its six divisions, which include Industrial Light & Magic, LucasArts Entertainment and Skywalker Sound.
After it picks up IDT’s stake, Rainmaker plans to acquire all remaining shares of Mainframe at a total cost of around $13.8 million. Mainframe took in $19 million in revenues during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006.
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