MUMBAI: George Clooney has ended his long-standing business partnership with Warner Bros. movie studios and has instead joined hands with Sony.

The Ocean's Eleven star is moving his Smokehouse Pictures company to Sony. Clooney found initial fame after starring in hit medical drama ER, a TV show produced by Warner Bros. in 1994.

Later, he went on to set up his production firm with pal Grant Heslov in 2006. However, after a three-year alliance with Warner Bros., the pair has decided to move on and has inked a new deal with Sony.

But Clooney has claimed that the decision is amicable, and credited his "family" at the movie giant for all their hard work.

"Warner Bros. has been a great place to work, and I've felt like part of a family for almost 20 years. So in moving on, I'm leaving a terrific company and a lot of dear friends. They're a class act," the Daily Star quoted him as saying.