Ymagis Group Concludes Sale of Restoration Subsidiary Eclair Cinéma to L’Image Retrouvée, Eclair Cinéma Renamed Eclair C...
28 Février 2020 - 8:00AM
Ymagis Group Concludes Sale of Restoration Subsidiary Eclair Cinéma
to L’Image Retrouvée, Eclair Cinéma Renamed Eclair Classics
Press releaseParis (France) – 28 February 2020
at 8:00
Ymagis Group Concludes Sale of
Restoration Subsidiary Eclair Cinéma to L’Image Retrouvée, Eclair
Cinéma Renamed Eclair Classics
Ymagis Group (FR0011471291, MAGIS,
PEA-PME), the European specialist in digital technologies
for the film industry, announces that on Thursday 27 February 2020
it signed the final agreement for the sale of its Eclair Cinéma SAS
subsidiary, an entity of the Eclair business unit specialising in
film restoration in France and which has since been renamed Eclair
Classics, to L’Image Retrouvée SAS, a subsidiary of the Italian
company L’Immagine Ritrovata.
This agreement, whereby L’Image Retrouvée SAS
has acquired 100% of the Eclair Cinéma SAS shares, follows the
approval on 26 February 2020 of the Eclair Cinéma SAS continuation
plan by the Commercial Court of Nanterre.
Eclair Cinéma SAS was placed in receivership in
November 2018 and has undergone major restructuring, begun in early
2019. It has since been focusing on restoration activities, an area
of expertise in which it is the leader in France, with close to 800
feature films restored. The activity generated €3.7m in revenue in
2019.
Through this operation, Ymagis Group secures the
future of the restoration activity by teaming up with an
international reference for the restoration of the world’s film
heritage. L’Image Retrouvée is a French-registered company owned by
L’Immagine Ritrovata and Simest, a subsidiary of the Cassa Depositi
e Prestiti Group specialised in lending support to the growth of
Italian companies since 1991 by internationalising their
activities.
The transaction ensures continuity of service
for Eclair Cinéma’s customers, due in large part to the fact that
the vast majority of the workforce have been retained and will be
relocated to L’Image Retrouvée’s offices in central Paris. It also
includes a licence agreement for the use of the Eclair Classics
trademark and a commercial agreement regarding a number of Eclair’s
other activities.
For Jean Mizrahi, President and CEO of Ymagis
Group, "This agreement is an important step in the recovery of the
Eclair business unit. The operation also ensures the technical
excellence and long-term future of Eclair Classics’ restoration
activities, which continue to play a key role in the valuation of
France’s cinema heritage.”
For Davide Pozzi, CEO of L’Image Retrouvée, “The
company’s new name, Eclair Classics, is a tribute to the cultural
policy of preserving film heritage upheld by the rights-holders and
cinematheques all over the world. Through events such as Cannes
Classics, Bologna’s Il Cinema Ritrovato festival and the Festival
Lumière in Lyon, heritage films have taken on greater importance
with an ever-increasing audience. The name Eclair Classics is an
act of acknowledgement of and passion for these events and those
who have made them possible.”
In addition, Ymagis wishes to clarify that the
implementation of the financial restructuring plan and the issue of
ORARs and share purchase warrants voted by the General
Shareholders’ Meeting on 19 February, in accordance with the
agreements reached with the Group’s creditors, remain subject to
approval by the Commercial Court of Paris of the Conciliation
Protocol.
The Commercial Court of Paris has agreed to
grant the parties an additional period to allow them to finalize
the documents aimed at executing the Protocol and postponed the
date of approval of the Conciliation Protocol to no later than 24
March 2020 (rather than 15 March as indicated in the terms of the
Prospectus published on 12 February).
In accordance with the terms of the Prospectus,
the issue of ORARs and share purchase warrants will take place on
31 March 2020.
Next press release: 24 April 2020 –
Full-Year 2019 Earnings
ABOUT YMAGIS GROUPYmagis is a European leader in
advanced digital technology services for the cinema industry.
Founded in 2007, the Group is headquartered in Paris and has
offices in 22 countries with 750 employees. Our core business is
structured around four main units: CinemaNext (exhibitor services:
sales and field services, software solutions, customer
service/NOC), Eclair (content services: postproduction, theatrical
delivery, digital distribution, versioning and accessibility,
restoration and preservation), Virtual Print Fee (VPF) for finance
solutions and other activities (Virtual Reality). For more
information, please visit www.ymagis.com YMAGIS is
listed on Euronext Paris and is part of the CAC Small, CAC Mid and
Small and CAC All-Tradable indices. |
YMAGIS GROUPJean Mizrahi,
CEOTel.: +33 (0)1 75 44 88
88investisseurs@ymagis.com CALYPTUSMathieu
Calleuxymagis@calyptus.netTel.: + 33 (0)1 53 65 68 62 |
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