Reliance Mediaworks Ltd (RMW), formerly Adlabs Films Ltd, has acquired the assets of Ilab UK Ltd for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition marks its entry into the UK market, said a company statement.
Ilab is one of the two film processing facilities operating in London’s Soho. It is claimed to be the rushes (which is the first print made of a day's filming) house for high-end film originated drama series for the BBC. Ilab offers bespoke, specialist rushes service for the commercials, feature and broadcast market. The share of RMW touched a high of Rs 286 today before falling to Rs 280.70 by 2.45 PM.
RMW, part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), will offer front-end, processing, restoration, 2D to 3D conversion and post-production services to broadcasters and studios. The company also plans to cater to Hollywood and Hindi film businesses through Ilab. Reliance MediaWorks recently partnered with Los Angeles-based In-Three to set up an India-based facility that will convert 2D films and videos into 3D to tap growing global demand for 3D films.
Apart from that, RMW will now be able to offer lab, rushes and transfer services to the many Indian films that are shot on location in London and UK by tying Ilab with its Mumbai facility center, added the statement.
“UK is one of the world’s leading post-production markets. Through Reliance MediaWorks UK, we would provide next generation services for the local film makers and broadcasters, while also catering to Hollywood and hindi film businesses,” Anil Arjun, CEO, Reliance MediaWorks said in the statement.
Apart from film processing, RMW operates a cinema chain called BIG Cinemas, with around 500 screens currently spread across India, US, Malaysia and Netherlands. The company has presence in television programming industry as well with BIG Synergy and recently demerged its radio business into Reliance Media World Ltd.
