For the second time in a month a London-based digital effects company has changed hands between private equity firms. The Carlyle Group, which now achieves an exit by selling The Mill, last month acquired a majority stake in The Foundry from Advent Venture Partners and other shareholders.
The Mill produces post-production digital effects for clients such as Nike, Ford, T-Mobile, Sony and Adidas. Headquartered in London, the company also has offices in New York and Los Angeles. The business won an Academy Award for its work on the Ridley Scott-directed film Gladiator and a Bafta for its work on BBC drama Doctor Who.
The sale marks the third time that a private equity firm has taken a stake in the business. In 2001, 3i acquired the business in a management buy-out and held onto the business until 2007 when The Carlyle Group completed a secondary buy-out for the company.
Steven Silvester, director at BPE comments: ‘BPE believes that the changes in the advertising market and the proliferation of the opportunities for brands to interact with their customers via the moving image play to The Mill’s strengths and provide a very attractive opportunity for the Company.’
Funding from the deal will be used to continue growth, expand into related fields such as digital advertising and to enter new markets in Asia and South America, according to a statement released by the company.
The Mill chief executive Robin Shenfield says the growing demand for video content has allowed the business to achieve good revenue growth in spite of the economic downturn.
Shenfield adds: ‘[The deal] will enable us to realise our potential across high growth areas in digital video content for the web, mobile and video games to expand geographically into key markets such as China, India and Brazil.’
Shenfield and chief creative officer Pat Joseph will remain with the company following the transaction.
