The acquisition is set for May 1 through Hakuhodo DY Holdings for an undisclosed amount. Hakuhodo group company Hakuhodo DY Media Partners will manage the entity. Media Partners was a member of the production consortium for 2004 megahit Crying Out Love, In The Center Of The World .
Toshiba stated that it had sold the subsidiary in order to consolidate management resources and to focus on its network technology and digital media products, as well as core businesses of semiconductors and atomic energy.
Toshiba Entertainment was launched just four years ago in 2003 and had been active in feature film production, distribution and home video. The move follows Toshiba's sale of its 45% share of record label Toshiba-EMI to EMI at the end of 2006 for a total withdrawal from the entertainment contents business. Third quarter earnings were approximately $67m (Y8bn), but profits were reportedly low.
Toshiba has distributed past films such as Roman Polanski's The Pianist and Park Chan-wook's Oldboy. The company has several features in current release including Paul Verhoeven's Black Book and last year's Venice entry Bugmaster. Upcoming releases include Goal! 2, Open Water 2, a remake of Korean hit My Sassy Girl and Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute.
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