Miramax sold to Qatar’s BeIN Media Group
Miramax, the film company behind movies such as “Pulp Fiction” and “Good Will Hunting,” has been sold to BeIN Media Group, a broadcaster based in Qatar.
The companies said Wednesday that BeIN acquired the entirety of the famed independent film shop from Thomas Barrack’s Colony Capital and Qatar Investment Authority.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Miramax’s library of more than 700 movies -- including Oscar winners “The English Patient,” “Shakespeare in Love,” “Chicago” and “No Country for Old Men” -- probably proved attractive to BeIN, which operates sports networks and movie channels.
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BeIN, based in Doha, Qatar, runs TV channels in 24 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as outlets in the U.S. and Europe.
The sale is the latest development in the long-running series of ownership changes for the studio founded by Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 1979.
They built Miramax into a prominent independent studio with such critically acclaimed movies as “sex, lies and videotape” and “Reservoir Dogs” before selling to the Walt Disney Co. in 1993.
They left in 2005 after a bitter dispute with Disney over creative control, and then formed the Weinstein Co.
In 2010, an investor group led by real estate magnate Ron Tutor, Colony and Qatar bought Miramax for $660 million. The Weinsteins had tried to win back the studio they founded, but lost out in their bid when they lowered their offer at the last minute. Tutor later sold his stake to the Qatar investment fund.
Though not the hit-maker it was in its prime, Miramax hopes to grow its film business with projects such “Bad Santa 2” and “Bridget Jones’s Baby.”
Last year, the company had the Kevin Hart comedy “The Wedding Ringer” and the Ian McKellen film “Mr. Holmes.” Its TV endeavors include “From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series,” based on the 1996 Robert Rodriguez film.
Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter for more entertainment business coverage: @rfaughnder
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