In a deal concluded at Cannes last month, Graham Bradstreet's Montage Media & Capital has merged with publicly traded Viastar Holdings VISH and Bradstreet has been appointed chairman of the new group.

Viastar, which is run by CEO George Malasek, is an outfit dedicated to developing portfolio companies in the media and entertainment fields and plans to create operating companies in areas such as film finance, production and communication and marketing.

Montage is a media financing company specialized in financing major US studio movies as well as raising money for distributors, producers and sales agents. Montage is currently working on financing for Parallel Pictures, Katselas Films and Alythia Ltd among other companies, and is structuring the financing to develop, produce and distribute productions through Aeon Media Ltd which will be owned by Viastar as part of the acquisition. Aeon plans to finance 19 films over an initial three-year period and is planning to raise $150m as equity to launch its initial slate.

Bradstreet is renowned as the architect of insurance-backed film financing and he raised some $1bn for movies made by companies such as Paramount Pictures, MGM, Franchise Pictures, Phoenix Pictures and Mandalay Entertainment.