Studio Babelsberg is planning to go public in the first halfof this year, according to managing director and co-owner Carl Woebcken.

In an interview with the business newspaper Euro AmSonntag at the weekend, he revealed thatthe German film studios were 'in intensive talks' about an IPO whichwould be undertaken within the first six months of 2005.

Woebcken and partner Christoph Fisser bought the Babelsbergstudios from the French media concern Vivendi Universal (VU) last July for the symbolicprice of Euro 1 and received Euros 18m from VU as 'start-upfinancing' for investment in the studio lot over the next 2-3 years.

Babelsberg is currently hosting the Silver Pictures andWarner Bros. Pictures production of the Alan Moore comic adaptation V ForVendetta by director James McTeigue whichis set to start shooting in the Berlin-Brandenburg region from March. JoelSilver and Andy and Larry Wachowski are producing.