
YMAGIS GROUP SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH ITALIAN OPEN SKY SRL FOR ACQUISITION OF ITS THEATRICAL CONTENT DELIVERY ACTIVITIES.
Marco Polo Advisor assisted Opensky in the transaction
Paris (France) and Vicenza (Italy) – 30 November 2016
Ymagis Group the European specialist in digital technologies for the cinema industry, today announced an agreement with Vicenza-based Open Sky SRL for the acquisition of its theatrical content delivery activities dedicated to cinema exhibition (“Open Sky Cinema”). Under the terms of the agreement and subject to the fulfillment of conditions precedent, Open Sky SRL will transfer the related assets to the Group.
"It’s a strategic move for our company to take over these valuable assets from Open Sky at a time when we are actively pursuing our market consolidation strategy in theatrical delivery,” explains Ymagis Group President and CEO Jean Mizrahi.
“Joining such a visionary industry leader as Ymagis is a source of great satisfaction for us,” says Paolo Dalla Chiara, President of Open Sky. “That is for two main reasons: Ymagis recognizes the value of our company that pioneered the digitalization of the cinema exhibition business in Italy and the technical expertise we developed with undisputable reliability.”
“Having been successful partners for a number of years, we are thrilled to become part of a fast-growing company with a strong international presence,” explains Open Sky Cinema Managing Director Walter Munarini. “We are now able to make a qualitative leap in terms of development and performance while positively contributing to both the Italian cinema industry and Ymagis Group’s growth. It also involves a consolidation of our role as an integrated operator working with satellite, on-demand cinema and hard drives. With this merger, Open Sky content delivery technology will expand across Europe through Eclair.”
Both parties intend to close the deal before the end of the year. Current Open Sky Cinema Managing Director Walter Munarini will remain on board, overseeing the daily operations of the Group’s new content services venture in Italy.
As part of Open Sky SRL, the cinema business unit was created in 2006 at the beginning of the digitalization of the cinema industry. In 2008, they successfully achieved the first live event transmission to cinemas in Italy. Two years later, they initiated the first electronic DCP deliveries. Today, Open Sky Cinema boasts a network of 650 connected cinema sites in Italy and delivers 400 feature-length films every. In 2015, they introduced VPN-based COD (Cinema On Demand) services, providing greater flexibility to cinema exhibitors in their programming. In addition to handling the logistics around film content delivery, Open Sky Cinema ensures the transmission of live events, distributes promotional materials and provides production services for red-carpet events.
Marco Polo Advisor (with Filippo Rozzanigo and Endri Dobi) acted as financial advisor for Open Sky. Studio legale BLF, represented by Federico Lolli and Andrea Corbelli, assisted Opensky as legal adviser while Studio Geg (with Massimo Lotto and Alberto Signorini) acted as fiscal advisor.