German media concern IN-motion has acquired 76% of Kirk D'Amico's US sales operation Myriad Pictures for $4m, only weeks after the Frankfurt-based company went public.

D'Amico will remain CEO of Myriad, working with IN-motion's LA-based chairman for film and TV Philip von Alvensleben, formerly president of Telemuenchen, who joined Myriad's board of directors in 1999 and is a shareholder in the company.

"We now have more operating capital to work with and are hiring people and expanding our office space," said D'Amico, who added that priority hires are a head of marketing and a chief financial officer. "We have a range of projects and a couple of very key company acquisitions in the pipeline. Going forward, we will be more aggressive about the films we are acquiring and co-producing."

Myriad's current production slate includes Tangled, a thriller starring Rachel Leigh Cook and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The company also scored a coup in securing international sales rights to Killing Me Softly, a thriller to star Heather Graham and directed by Chen Kaige which will shoot in London in October. Killing Me Softly is produced by Tom Pollock and Ivan Reitman's Montecito Film Co.

IN-motion, which floated on the Neuer Markt on June 20, has a slate including writer-director Bill Jennings' Harlem Aria and action-series 18 Wheels Of Justice. Company-stock for IN-motion was not influenced by the announcement.

Michael Muenzing, chief executive officer of IN-motion, commented: "In addition to the increase in sales and profit through the acquisition of Myriad Pictures Inc, this is the first step in expanding IN-motion AG's global position. The acquisition not only makes IN-motion one of the first German media companies opening an office in Los Angeles, but also intensifies co-operation with the Hollywood studios. This is one of the first in a series of expected deal closures that will help realise our strategy faster than anticipated."