Regal Entertainment appoints ECA as strategic adviser, eyes public listing in 2010 (HWT)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Regal Entertainment Group has appointed Entertainment Capital Advisors (ECA) as its strategic adviser to help move along its pan-European expansion. ECA will advise the media company on its corporate strategy and growth and aid in capital raising. Regal is eyeing a listing on London's AIM sometime in 2010.

Regal, recently launched by Adi Cohen's CA Capital Markets Group, is based in Barcelona and New York and plans to create a pan-European film production and distribution outfit providing access to local filmmakers and talent along with soft money and subsidy options in various territories.

The group is owned by various private and institutional investors, including CA Capital Markets, which is headed by NY businessmen Cohen and Joseph Grinkorn, and Jordi Rediu, a Catalan film producer.

Regal currently owns a 75% stake in Redui's Barcelona-based Zip Films, and majority shareholding in Zip's distribution and management subsidiaries.

The group is also in advanced discussions to acquire a large stake in Germany's VCL Film + Medien AG, a publicly listed company.

Further, Regal is in final acquisition negotiations with 2 Spanish exhibition groups boasting a total of 190 screens.

In a statement, Regal said, "The Group believes that the depressed global economic conditions have created unique opportunities for nimble players to create businesses for the future. The changing landscape of the motion picture industry has seen the business become more polarised into the large blockbuster films produced by the studios and the small budget films which require a different, more localised production and distribution model."

Premila Hoon is acting as strategic adviser for ECA.