19th Mar 2008 08:44
DQ Entertainment PLC19 March 2008 19 March DQ Entertainment plc ("DQE" or "the Company") Announcement of Memorandum of Understanding between DQE and Pritish Nandy Communications DQ Entertainment plc (AIM: DQE) a leading animation and gaming contentproduction company, today announces that it has entered into a Memorandum ofUnderstanding ("MoU") with Bollwood major, Pritish Nandy Communications Limited("PNC"). The MoU is the basis for the planned co-development and co-production of 6movies with PNC over the next 3-4 years, with an estimated total global budgetof approximately US$ 45-50 million. These films will be in Animation & LiveAction and each project will be separately announced once the globalco-production budgets are agreed. Tapaas Chakravarti, Chairman and CEO of DQ Entertainment said:"We believe that Bollywood offers many exciting new opportunities and we areready to seize them with the support of our new co-production partners PNC. Theanimation and gaming market in India is about to explode and this partnershipwill explore every new idea that exists or can be developed. PNC is a creativecompany and a thought leader in the business of live action movies. We wouldlike them to share our space and experience in animation and gaming andvice-versa, we would like to share their expertise in live action movies toour mutual creative and commercial advantage. We have been discussing theseinitiatives for quite some time and the culmination of this understanding isbased on not only sharing of ideologies but serious governance norms existing inboth the companies. PNC's creative & commercial reach in Bollywood and globalIndian diaspora combined with DQE's extensive global co-production andcommercial networking, will prove good for creating great Indian contentsuitable for next-gen audiences in India and abroad." Pritish Nandy, Chairman of Pritish Nandy Communications Limited said:"DQE and PNC have a unique sharing of minds and we believe that together we cando a whole new range of exciting things with creative and commercialopportunities. DQE is a world leader in the high-end animation & film contentspace and the range and quality of their work has deeply impressed us. We wouldnow like to create some unique movies as well as movie-based games to captureyoung and new audiences in Bollywood as well as on the international platformand it is our pride to associate with DQE's extremely talented team of 3000professionals across the globe These projects will be based on modern new ageanimation flicks, Indian mythology-based stories, some of which have alreadybeen conceived by PNC as well as remake of great Indian classics for today'saudiences in an exciting new format to breath new life into them. We are alsoexploring gaming extensions for all platforms to be co-developed with DQEincluding comic book spin-offs." -ends- Enquires: Bell Pottinger 020 7861 3232Nick Lambert / Chris Hamilton DQ Entertainment +91 40 23553726Niranjan Prasad, VP Corporate Affairs Evolution Securities Limited 0207 071 4300Tom Price / Jeremy Ellis / Chris Clarke Notes to Editors DQ Entertainment plc • DQ Entertainment plc is a leading animation production company engagedin the production of traditional / digital animation and game art developmentwith a substantial workforce and a global client base • DQ Entertainment plc currently produces animation for films, televisionseries and console based games for a number of international production houses • DQ Entertainment plc has approximately 80 clients including Walt DisneyTelevision Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios Inc., Electronic Arts,Marvel, American Greetings, NBC-Universal, BBC, Method Films and Take 2Interactive • DQ Entertainment plc has very large international quality productionfacilities in Hyderabad, India. Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd Pritish Nandy Communications is one of India's most successful and criticallyacclaimed movie companies. It spearheaded the corporation of the movie businessand was one of the first to list on the two major stock exchanges in India. Theonly ISO 9001: 2000 certified movie company in India, PNC was twice listed byDeloitte among the fastest growing TMT companies in the Asia Pacific Regionin 2003 and 2004 and has produced 20 films over the past six years which havewon both critical acclaim and box office success. They have been showcased inover 60 international film festivals and received over 300 award nominations.PNC got the Global Corporate Governance Award at the World Congress forCorporate Governance in London in 2005 and is credited with having created themultiplex movie genre which is the fastest growing genre in Bollywoodtoday. Brand PNC is among India's most highly rated movie brands and was valuedat INR 2635 million by BrandFinance of UK in 2006. It stands for new, cuttingedge, commercial cinema that can compare with the best anywhere. Among its mostsuccessful movies are Bollywood Calling, Kaante, Jhankaar Beats, Chameli, Shabd,Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and Pyar Ke Side Effects. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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