Harbottle & Lewis advise Target Entertainment on Greenlit Rights acquisition

Media and entertainment lawyers, Harbottle & Lewis, have advised international rights management and production group, Target Entertainment, on its acquisition of independent drama production company Greenlit Rights. The deal will strengthen Target's production capabilities and marks an important milestone in the group's ambitious growth strategy following on from the acquisition of distributor Minotaur International in July 2007.

Founded in 1998 by Jill Green, Greenlit is a leading, independent production company which specialises in high-quality TV movies, TV mini-series and larger scale, commercial feature films. Its portfolio includes primetime detective series Foyle's War, The Man Who Lost His Head starring Martin Clunes and recent ITV comedy-drama Honest which starred Amanda Redman. The acquisitions of Minotaur and Greenlit mark the first in a series of acquisitions planned by Target Entertainment Group over the next few years. The company will continue to invest in its internal divisions both in the UK and the United States.

Harbottle & Lewis advised on all legal aspects of the transaction, including the acquisition itself and the related financing. Colin Howes, Head of the Company and Commercial Group, led the transaction team with Alison Wilds, Head of the Finance Group, responsible for advice on the financing. Tony Littner assisted on both the corporate and financing aspects with support from members of the firm's Television, Tax, Property, IT/IP and Employment Groups.

Colin Howes commented: "We've acted for Target almost since it was formed and have been delighted to watch the growth and success of the group. Their development from a specialist distributor, building on their strengths through the Minotaur acquisition and diversifying through this deal into production (and through organic growth into other complementary areas) is particularly interesting.

"Consolidation activity in the independent TV production market has intensified over the past few years. Target's background and business model differ from most of the other diversified groups in this space. Exploitation of visual content is undergoing radical change; those companies with the breadth and flexibility to respond to emerging trends will be the success stories of tomorrow. By combining Target's extensive contacts and experience as a leading distributor with the proven production credentials of Greenlit, Target Entertainment Group will be well positioned to take advantage of the changes which are coming."

Alison Rayson, CEO Target Entertainment said: "This is the second acquisition we have worked on in the past year with Colin Howes and his media team at Harbottles. As with our acquisition of Minotaur, the advice and expertise offered covered a broad spectrum of issues ranging from comprehensive legal due diligence of Greenlit Rights' extensive rights portfolio to detailed advice on the corporate transaction. Working with Colin and his team is always a smooth and seamless process and one that I enjoy immensely."

For further information, please contact Colin Howes on 020 7667 5000.

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12/03/08

Note for Editors

Harbottle & Lewis LLP
Harbottle & Lewis provides specialist advice to the media and entertainment industries. It is consistently recognised as a leading firm in these areas by independent sources.

Firm overview: The firm's work encompasses all areas of media and entertainment, including film, television, broadcasting, sport, music, publishing, advertising fashion and theatre and remains unique in having expertise right across these sectors.

We provide a complete range of commercial advice to our clients, including: buying and selling businesses and companies, joint ventures, finance, capital markets, commercial disputes, property, employment, immigration and tax. Other specialist legal areas include, sponsorship, intellectual property, legal issues relating to media, including defamation, advertising, brand protection, data protection, privacy, art and gaming and gambling as well as private client and matrimonial work. The firm's expertise in other areas such as aviation and charities is also widely recognised.

Much of our work involves the technology, new media and telecoms industries and we have done ground-breaking work in connection with the digital exploitation of content and e-commerce generally. Specialist knowledge and understanding of the entertainment industry and related IP issues enables the firm to identify and deal with the key issues at an early stage, and then negotiate and provide commercially sound legal advice from a position of strength.

Recent work:
In the last year we have advised on a number of significant corporate deals in the media and entertainment sector including:

Virgin Holidays acquisition of Fast Track Holidays
Acquisition of Objective Productions by All3Media
Acquisition of Minotaur International by Target Entertainment
Joint venture agreement between Channel 4 and Emap plc
Acquisition of Prospect Pictures, September Films and West Park Pictures by DCD Media
Virgin Active acquisition of Holmes Place
Financing and acquisitions of development houses by SCi/Eidos and Take 2
Sale of 90 per cent of Virgin Books by Random House

Target Entertainment
Target Entertainment was formed by Alison Rayson as an international TV distribution company in 1998. Backed by private equity group Electra and by entrepreneur/investor Richard Thompson, the company has grown substantially over the last few years to become a fully fledged rights management and content business. In 2004 it launched entertainment production, consumer licensing, and home entertainment divisions. More recently it has expanded to include kids content and theatrical investment and sales. The group has offices in London and the East and West coasts of America.

Issued by:
Caroline Renton
Head of Marketing
E-mail: caroline.renton@harbottle.com
Telephone: 020 7667 5231