Strategic investments, mergers and acquisitions, its high season for Indian Animation!
Global giant Thomson through its Technicolor Content Services business, has made a strategic investment in Bangalore based Paprikaas Animation Studios which is renowned for its CGI capabilities.
“It is a very positive development for our studio and the investment shall take care of our expansion plans and help us fuel our growth. Our relationship with Thomson started off as a client-vendor relationship and it seemed logical for us to leverage our synergies and take this to the next level. This strategic investment by a global brand in media and entertainment services like Technicolor lends credibility not just to our studio but to the entire Indian animation and gaming space, Paprikaas Animation Studios‘ CEO Nandish Domlur shared with AnimationXpress.com
“Also Technicolor brings with it a host of global media and entertainment customers, who now will have the option of utilising our animation production services which can be bundled along with Technicolor‘s as well as its subsidiary companies bouquet of services” he added.
Thierry Pasquet, VP, Thomson for India shared “We have recognized that the animation industry in India is growing at a rapid pace. and we have been been looking to capture a larger share of that growing market in theatrical, commercial advertising, animation and video game.”
“Paprikaas has proven that their animation and game content creation work consistently meets our high standards, enabling us to further expand our capabilities and global reach, while also achieving cost efficiencies,” he added
As part of the new initiative, Technicolor plans on integrating Paprikaas with it‘s various divisions and building pipelines with other facilities, hence expanding the overall abilities globally. This move provides Thomson with a strategic platform enabling them to accelerate their roadmap in India.
The integrated team of Technicolor and Paprikaas would now get the opportunity to work on a host of projects in animation, gaming, TV and films that the joint venture would bring to the table.
Thierry feels that the animation industry in India is performing well with a considerable number of good production houses. The talent pool available is good and improving even as we speak. At the moment, majority of the Indian market is concentrated towards offshore and outsourced work but this is changing now. As per the recent NASSCOM report the Indian gaming market (from a development perspective) could reach $ 425m and the Indian animation market (from a development perspective) could reach $ 870m by 2010.
Talking about Technicolor‘s further expansion plans in India Pasquet said, “We are looking at growing organically but also at acquiring companies in India if it is strategic and is in synergy with our plans for the country”
Technicolor Content Services, part of the Services division of Thomson, is the world‘s second largest provider of content preproduction, production, postproduction, and distribution capabilities to the broadcast, cable, feature film, advertising, and ancillary home video and DVD markets. It also has an outfit called Moving Pictures Company, London which engages in providing hi-end VFX services.
The division also provides video game content creation and development services for leading video game publishers including Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony Computer Entertainment, Vivendi Games, Epic Games, and Bioware among others.
Paprikaas which is one of India‘s premier animation studios boasts of a strength of 160 artists with a strong focus on digital 3D content for feature films, TV and video games.