Mediaentrepreneur Jay Boberg, with the financial backing of media and communicationsprivate-equity firm Clarity Partners, has acquired Liberty InternationalEntertainment and is relaunching it as Liberation Entertainment.

The acquisitionincludes a sizeable library of more than 250 features, as well as episodictelevision and music concert programming.

Boberg willserve as chairman and chief executive officer of the new company, which hasstuck a deal with Genius Products to handle DVD distribution for most of thecontent.

In additionLiberation has signed an exclusive output US domestic home entertainmentlicensing deal with Regent Releasing for first-run theatrical films, and forhere! Network's television programs produced for the subscription and on-demandnetwork.

Boberg,co-founder of the independent music label IRS Records and former president ofMCA Records, has put together a management team that includes former LibertyInternational chairman Irv Holender, who assumes the title of vice chairman.

Former TimeWarner Global Marketing senior vice president of entertainment businessdevelopment Sam Mandel arrives as chief operating officer, while Aldy Damian isnamed executive vice president and Paramount Television veteran Stan Justicebecomes senior vice president domestic distribution.

"Launchinga new company with such a strong library at this pivotal time of transition inthe visual content business is very exciting," Boberg said.

"There aretremendous untapped opportunities for our content in the traditional revenuestreams of DVD and broadcast television, domestic & international. But it'sthe potential our library holds for the new digital delivery formatshighlighted last week at CES [the Consumer Electronics Show that took place inLas Vegas last week] that make this acquisition so exciting."

Liberty's assetsinclude The Return Of Superfly starring Samuel L Jackson, Steele's Law starring Fred Williamson, and BeverlyHills Brats starringPeter Billingsly and Martin Sheen.