Investment funds circle visual effects group Technicolor

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Technicolor, one of the world’s oldest moviemaking technology companies, is in talks with other media and investment groups over a sale of the privately owned business.

Technicolor, which traces its roots to 1916 when motion picture and colour technology was first used in Hollywood, has changed hands several times. Previous owners include British company Carlton Communications and France’s Thomson Multimedia.

The business was spun out of a larger, Paris-listed group in 2022 that was renamed Vantiva. Technicolor is now owned by a group of its former lenders and investment funds including Farallon Capital, Barings and Pimco. 

The Paris-based firm has now started talks with potential buyers, including groups of private equity companies and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, as well as rival media groups, a person familiar with its plans said.

Another person close to the talks said: “The management has right sized the company and it’s now heading towards growth. The shareholders are still supportive but are assessing the long-term future of the business.”

About 6,000 people work for the group across offices in the US, Canada, Australia, Europe and India on visual effects, graphics and animation services for the movie, TV, gaming and advertising industries. Technicolor declined to comment on its potential sale.

The group, which generates annual revenues of about €500mn, operates four main business divisions.

The Moving Picture Company (MPC) provides visual effects and Computer-generated imagery for film and TV, while The Mill does similar for the advertising and music industries and Technicolor Games serves the gaming industry. Mikros specialises in animation.

The company was hard hit by the pandemic and later by Hollywood strikes. People close to the business said it was too focused on the mainstream filmmaking industry even though streaming companies such as Netflix were writing the biggest cheques for production.

The company appointed former Europcar boss Caroline Parot as chief executive last year to lead a restructuring and recovery plan to return the business to growth.

Marc-Antoine d’Halluin, a media industry veteran who earlier this year sold Asacha Media Group to Fremantle Media, was appointed chair of the business before the summer to help oversee the strategic plan, which now includes the sale process. 

The new management has sought to broaden the company’s business. It is moving into faster-growing parts of production as more film and TV makers are now able to afford visual effects for their projects because the use of AI has cut costs. Games studios and advertising are also using visual effects more in their production. 

The group has had recent Oscar nominations for its visual effects work on Top Gun: Maverick as well as numerous BAFTA, Emmy and other nominations. Technicolor Games has worked on NBA, Madden and Fifa franchises as well as Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Gotham Knights.