Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and French dubbing specialist Dubbing Brothers have unveiled plans to build a $4.5m (DM9m) state-of-the-art digital facility at the Babelsberg studios outside Berlin.

SPE will take a 25% stake in the venture - which is called Dubbing Brothers Germany (DBG) - and contribute technical expertise and audio engineering. DBG will be the primary manager on all foreign-language dubbing projects. Regional government-run investment bank ILB will subsidise the venture with some credit funding.

"We have been customers of Dubbing Brothers for over a decade," said Kenneth Williams, president of SPE''''s Digital Studios Division. "The media sector in this region is growing rapidly and we''''ll be there to provide superior quality dubbing. DBG will also serve as a technology platform to launch future digital projects in the region."

Dubbing Brothers CEO Philippe Taieb said the company "is uniquely qualified to offer exceptional foreign-language dubbing services."

The new facility will house five television recording studios, two theatrical stages, a music recording stage and a capacity of up to 1,200 hours of dubbing.