Leading media and entertainment company Relativity Media and B4U, a leading Bollywood film and television network announced today that the companies have formed a new joint venture.
It will leverage their combined resources to create and distribute long and short form entertainment and sports content in India that will span a variety of mediums including film, television and digital.
The joint venture will provide a platform for both Relativity and B4U to co-invest and distribute local Bollywood film and television productions.
In addition, the joint venture will distribute and market Relativity’s films, beginning with the romantic drama The Best of Me, in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
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“This strategic partnership represents an exciting opportunity for Relativity to significantly expand our presence in this vibrant and growing marketplace while creating a bridge for developing and sharing content between Hollywood and Bollywood,” said Ryan Kavanaugh, CEO of Relativity.
The partners will also launch “RelaTV” – a digital streaming technology platform to deliver short and long form content to Indian consumers and co-produce a slate of Hollywood films including The Best of Me.
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Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. However, the joint venture will have an investment of approximately $100 million available for projects.
It will be managed by B4U chief executive officer Ishan Saksena and will be overseen by a Board of Directors, to which both companies will appoint two directors.
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“This joint venture with Relativity is the natural step in our progression to build a creative film studio and unique technology platform,” said Ishan Saksena, CEO of B4U.
Relativity’s romantic drama The Best of Me, based on the novel by acclaimed author Nicholas Sparks, and starring James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan, will be the first film to be distributed by the joint venture in India and will be released on Oct. 17, 2014.
