Accelerating its international expansion, powerhouse European film company Wild Bunch has partnered with China Film and TV Capital, a Chinese state-backed private equity fund controlling 2 billion RMB ($322 million), to launch the China Europe Film Fund.
The new venture will develop and finance films co-produced by Chinese and European producers, targeting both the Chinese and broader international marketplace.
Later, the new fund will "gradually increase its financial resources by attracting other investors, while expanding its field of investment to other private equity segment[s] in the entertainment world," the two partners said in a statement.
"This is definitely extremely important for Wild Bunch's development strategy and growth, but we also hope to make it an example of success, at the key confluence of cultural and industrial cooperation," said Wild Bunch CEO and co-founder Vincent Grimond.
Paris-based Wild Bunch, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and recently launched a TV division, has been steadily expanding its footprint across Europe. The sales and finance outfit has distribution operations in France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Austria. The company also has a long history of handling Chinese films, such as the work of top directors Lou Ye and Zhang Yimou.
China Film and TV Capital was created by the China Film Foundation, the state-owned Cultural Assets Supervision and Administration Office of Beijing Municipal Government, Beijing Cultural Investment Development Group, Sparkle Roll Group and CITIC Asset Management Corporation Ltd. It was designed to support the Chinese cultural industry with strategic VC investments in film, TV dramas, cinema chains and other areas of the film and TV sector.