Spyglass closes five-year credit facility with JPMorgan Securities

Spyglass Entertainment andJPMorgan Securities have closed a $250m five-year revolving credit facility,which will enable Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum's production powerhouse tofinance production or acquisition of approximately five theatrical releases ayear, including pictures under its non-exclusive first-look production andco-financing pact with Columbia Pictures.

In a joint statement Barberand Birnbaum said: "John Miller, Christa Thomas and the JPMorgan team have beenwith us from the beginning and we are extremely appreciative of their continuedsupport to our business.

"JPMorgan has establisheditself as the preeminent leader in entertainment financing and we could nothave wished for a better bank to help our company grow."

Spyglass originally aimed toraise $200m but added another $50m following strong demand from the financecommunity.

JPMorgan managing directorJohn Miller added: "Our enthusiasm for Spyglass has been validated by theoverwhelming response from the banking community and the upsizing of the creditfacility is a testament to both Spyglass' strong management team and soundbusiness model, which includes ownership of a growing film library."

JPMorgan led a consortium of15 lenders including Union Bank of California, Royal Bank of Scotland, VereinsUnd-westbank, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, ING, Fleet Bank, US Bank, CityNational, HSBC, Manufacturers Bank, Mercantile National Bank, Bank Leumi,Israel Discount Bank and Cathay Bank.

Formed in October 1998, Spyglass'credits include The Sixth Sense, Seabiscuit, Bruce Almighty, The Count OfMonte Cristo and The Recruit.

The company has begunproduction on two pictures with Disney - The Pacifier, starring Vin Diesel and directed by Adam Shankman,and Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, which is based on the late Douglas Adams' bestseller.

This autumn Spyglass willfinance and produce Four Christmases, another project to be directed by Shankman, through its first-lookdeal with Sony Pictures. Three additional pictures in the pipeline are TheInvisible, Mute Witness and BunnyLake Is Missing.