Il Sole 24 ore – Fox joins Chili capital

155 euro per share paid with company valuation at150 million

Twentieth Century Fox, the production and distribution company of 21st Century Fox, is entering the capital of Chili. According to Il Sole 24 Ore, the agreement for the entry of the U.S. major at 155 euros per share was finalized yesterday evening. We are talking about almost 6 million for a 4 percent stake in this company founded in 2012, born from a rib of Fastweb and active in “Tvod”: video on demand with a formula based on individual purchases and different from “Svod,” a subscription model chosen by Netflix, Infinity (Mediaset), Timvision, Now Tv (Sky). In the end, with this operation 20th Century Fox joins the other studios that entered the capital in 2016 – Sony (with 3 percent), Paramount, and parent company Viacom (4 percent); Warner Bros (4 percent) – and follows the operation with which to invest in Chili, in December and with 25 million, was the Lavazza family with the holding company “Torino Investimenti 1895,” which after the entry of 20th Century Fox, will have 24 percent. Now, then, another U.S. major is joining a membership with prominent names on the financial scene. There is, for example, Stefano Romiti’s Antares Fund (11 percent). Also with 12 percent (post Fox) is Negentropy Capital Partners-a London-based fund led by former Morgan Stanley Ferruccio Ferrara-along with the Luxembourg-based Capsicum Fund. A number of investors have since come together in the vehicle “Investinchili,” in which Francesco Trapani (former Bulgari ad and Tiffany shareholder), Giuseppe Turri (co-founder of Clessidra), Antonio Belloni (Coo Lvmh), the Passera family, among others, participate. After the entry of 20th Century Fox Investinchili will have 7 percent, with two other investors completing the picture.

The BIGs
20th Century Fox joins the other studios : Sony (with 3%), Paramount and its parent Viacom (4%) and Warner Bros (4%)

The first: the founders’ vehicle “Brace” ( 30%) whose shares are in the hands of Stefano Parisi, who has since relinquished his positions in the company, and current chairman and ceo Giorgio Tacchia. The remaining 1 percent is in the hands of Tony Miranz, founder of Vudu (sold in 2010 to Walmart). This is the “good living room” of a Chili in which 20th Century Fox’s entry pushed the company’s valuation to 150 million, up from 12 in 2013, 27 in 2014 to 64 after the majors’ entry in 2016 to 150 post-Fox’s entry. A climb that may intrigue, not least because the company has so far closed in the red, and 2016 was no exception (-8.4 million). Yet not uninformed investors and even studios have bet on it. After all, on reflection a reason may lie in Chili’s own activity: the Tvod that, in fact, has replaced dvd and blu-ray and enjoys the first window for movies after theatrical releases. Then there is the digital chapter. Here piracy has found its exaltation, but digital can also be the weapon to combat it. At least this is what the studios must have thought: supporting activities that can sustain the future of the content industry. After all, they have already invested in the Hulu platform. Of course, for now the one on Chili is a gamble. But the business plan is not forlorn. The 7.1 million in 2016 revenues doubled in 2017 and expected to be around 30 million in 2018. The platform is also active in Uk, Germany, Poland and Austria as well as in Italy where it claims 1.4 million customers. A number, they have often repeated from Chili, achieved without making big communication campaigns. Between April and May, however, it will be done: with an endowment of 10 million.

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Contatti Press