MarVista Entertainment has secured new investment capital from an investment group led by Brian N. Sheth, further strengthening the Company’s position as one of the world’s leading independent producer and distributor of feature films and television programming.
Press Release from MarVista Entertainment
Los Angeles, CA (August 11, 2011) – MarVista Entertainment has secured new investment capital from an investment group led by Brian N. Sheth, further strengthening the Company’s position as one of the world’s leading independent producer and distributor of feature films and television programming. The announcement was made today by Fernando Szew, CEO, MarVista Entertainment.
From its origins as primarily an international distribution company, MarVista has demonstrated rapid growth in recent years, to become a leading independent producer in North America, having produced over 100 hours of original movies and episodic programming in a broad range of genres for wide international distribution. With this additional investment, MarVista will build upon its current level of production and accelerate its acquisitions strategy to augment its already significant distribution catalog of over 2000 hours.
“In an industry that has failed many independents, MarVista has demonstrated a solid business model that continues to thrive in this challenging market,” commented Sheth. “Fernando and the team at MarVista have driven continuous growth of their production and distributionpipeline, and as an investment group, we see significant potential with this additional capital to further build this dynamic company.”
As part of the transition, MarVista’s founding partner and President, Michael D. Jacobs, will be resigning his position at the end of the year to pursue other interests but will continue to serve as a consultant for the Company.
MarVista’s production division will now be headed by Robyn Snyder who has been promoted to the newly created post of Executive Vice President of Production, reportingdirectly to MarVista’s CEO Fernando Szew. The promotion expands Snyder’s previous role as Senior Vice President, Development and Production and gives her oversight responsibility for all aspects of MarVista’s original programming, including series and feature films. Among the many productions that Snyder has spearheaded during her tenure with MarVista are Meteor Storm and Super Eruption, for Syfy, Deadly Honeymoon for Lifetime and the Debby Ryan starrer 16 Wishes, which aired last summer on Disney Channel and earned the distinction of being the most-watched cable telecast the night it premiered to over 6 million viewers.
Snyder’s expanding team is firstly joined by the appointment of Sharon Bordas, previously a production consultant for the Company, who will now serve as Vice President of Development and Production. Prior to MarVista, Bordas worked at Thinkwell Design & Production, S2BN Entertainment, Hollywood Creative Directory and HBO and developed projects with Teen Nick and SOAPnet.
The promotion and appointment follow the recent hire of former 20th Century Fox executive Stephanie Slack as Senior Vice President of Co-Productions and Acquisitions at MarVista. “I am proud to have played an integral role in building MarVista into a formidable production and distribution company. With the new team that we have assembled and the influx of an equity investment, I have no doubt the Company will continue to flourish under Fernando’s direction, ” said Jacobs.
“Since founding the Company in 2003, we have seen incredible growth at MarVista as we expanded beyond our initial third party distribution operation. With our new team in place and our new investors, led by Brian N. Sheth, we are poised to reach a new level of growth and to continue our commitment to producing quality content,” commented Szew. “This is an exciting time for MarVista, and all of us are grateful to Michael for the dedication and commitment he has made to the Company’s success. We appreciate Michael’s continued contributions to our development and production state, and we are confidentthat our new team has the experience and talent to exceed expectations in their respective roles.”
About MarVista Entertainment:MarVista Entertainment (www.marvista.net), a leading Los Angeles-based independent producer-distributor of feature films and television programming, globally licenses television series, movies, documentaries and direct-to-DVD programming to multiple platforms throughout the world. Founded in September 2003, MarVista’s library now features more than 2,000 hours of programming. The company has become a pre-eminent supplier of television movies to major cable networks in the U.S., including telefilms for The Disney Channel, Lifetime, Hallmark Channel, NBC Universal and ABC Family that generate extensive global terrestrial and pay television sales. Last year, MarVista formed a production and distribution alliance with SNAP TV in Argentina. And, most recently, the Company was appointed by Saban Brands as the international distributor for the new season of Power Rangers Samurai, and the classic library, which includes over 700 episodes.
About Brian N. Sheth:Brian N. Sheth is the President and co-founder of Vista Equity Partners, a leading private equity firm with over $3 billion in committed equity capital. Sheth is Vice-Chairman of the firm's investment committee and is directly involved in the execution of all of the investment activities for the portfolio. He is also focused on the development of Vista's personnel and executive leadership of the portfolio companies. Sheth sits on the boards of the majority of Vista's portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Vista, Sheth worked at Bain Capital, where he focused on leveraged buyouts of technology companies. He also previously worked in the mergers and acquisitions divisions at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, where he advised clients in a variety of industries, including software, hardware, semiconductors and online media. In addition to Sheth’s responsibilities at Vista, he is also a Director of Waterfall Mobile and Global Wildlife Conservation. Sheth received a B.S. in Economics from The University of Pennsylvania.
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