Studiocanal, ACE pact $200 mil deal

PARIS -- Pan-European film group Studiocanal has inked a pioneering three-year slate financing deal with London-based film financing fund Anton Capital Ing. ACE will need a 30% stake inside the British-language movies and movies with worldwide potential theatrically released by Studiocanal over the following three years. Deal -- which has already began in and includes Studiocanal-funded hit "Mess Tailor Soldier Spy" -- might be worth Euros150 million ($202.5 million) over the following three years in ACE co-investment. That will enable Studiocanal a movie financing capacity -- in productions, co-funded photos and flicks acquired for distribution -- having a minimum of Euros500 million ($675 million) through 2014. Studiocanal will probably be liberated to choose films inside the slate. Deal increases Studiocanal's investment capacity, offset risk and stay away of Studiocanal's coping with debt and searching for investment partners around the film-by-film basis, Studiocanal chairman-Boss Olivier Courson mentioned in Paris Thursday. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com