July 30, 2010 12:17

Disney sells Miramax for £423 million

Filmyard Holdings purchase influential studio

The Walt Disney Co. has sold Miramax Films for £423 million to Filmyard Holdings Llc. Filmyard Holdings is chaired by construction executive Ronald Tutor and Colony Capital chairman Tom Barrack.

The sale includes rights to over 700 film titles, including Academy Award-winning pictures such as Chicago, Shakespeare in Love and No Country for Old Men.

It has been estimated that the library comes with receivables worth over £96 million, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

In a statement, Disney CEO Robert Iger said: "Although we are very proud of Miramax's many accomplishments, our current strategy for Walt Disney Studios is to focus on the development of great motion pictures under the Disney, Pixar and Marvel brands. We are delighted that we have found a home for the Miramax brand and Miramax's very highly regarded motion picture library."

Miramax was founded in 1979 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein as a privately owned independent film company. It was bought in 1993 by Disney, and continued to operate under the Weinstein brothers until 2005.

Ronald Tutor, CEO of the Tutor Perini construction company, is estimated to have a personal fortune of more than £448 million. He said: "I am delighted and honoured to acquire the Miramax library. On behalf of my partners Tom Barrack and Colony Capital, we look forward to sharing this high-quality content with the world in every form of media for many years to come."

The sale is expected to be finalised between September and the end of the year.