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Bloomberg
Cinedigm Corp., a digital distributor of movies and other programming, jumped the most in three months after striking a deal to release films online and in theatres in China.
The agreement with Starrise Media Holdings Ltd., a former textile company that entered the media business two years ago, sent shares up as much as 14 percent. The agreement also sets
the stage for Los Angeles-based Cinedigm to distribute Chinese films in North America and to work on co-productions with Starrise, according to a Cinedigm statement. Television and other short-form programming may come later, potentially distributed on new online streaming channels in China. China-Hollywood alliances had been proliferating until 2017 following a Chinese government crackdown on foreign investment, including transactions with US entertainment companies.
Cinedigm’s $40 million deal in June to sell a majority stake to Hong Kong-based Bison Capital was one of the rare China-Hollywood deals to get completed in the past year, securing approval in Beijing and from US regulators in November, even as Washington lawmakers have increased scrutiny of Chinese investments.
The deal with Starrise is “an important step in implementing our plan to become the first true China/North American studio, strongly and uniquely positioned for high-quality content distribution and OTT channels and services in both hugely important territories,†Cinedigm Chief Executive Officer Chris McGurk said.
Cinedigm, which started out as a company that helped cinemas convert to digital movie projection, has in recent years remade itself into an online distributor of niche and feature films to digital platforms such as iTunes, Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.