| MUMBAI:
Sanraa Media is entering into a joint venture with US-based WSG where the Chennai-based
company will hold a 51 per cent stake, allowing it to tap into the Hollywood animation
and VFX market.
Sanraa-WSG Films Inc. will venture into co-productions,
expand service contracts and develop IPR.
"We will hold 51 per cent
in the JV and plan to initially invest $2-3 million," Sanraa Media chief
executive officer Sukumar Subramanium tells Indiantelevision.com.
Sanraa
Media, locked into a business model that depends on outsourcing contracts for
its main revenues, is now trying to create a global pipeline that will assure
more value into deal sizes.
The company, which ended the previous fiscal
on a revenue of Rs 446.28 million and a net profit of Rs 54.16 million, hopes
the JV would enable it to step into bigger and, perhaps, riskier Hollywood projects.
"Sanraa-WSG
will front end the Indian studio in Hollywood and USA to work on global co-production
deals for animation and VFX projects. We are in advanced discussion for production
and distribution of an international animation film with a well known production
house," says Subramanium. The
challenge, though, will be to capitalise the overseas entity even as Subramanium
places his bet on original film content. Some Indian animation companies have
spent years to restructure their businesses to get into the lucrative Hollywood
market.
Subramanium hopes to raise funding through the overseas entity.
But at a time when the US market has toughened for funding of companies, there
are more questions that Sanraa Media will have to answer than just state its ambitions.
"It
is tough to go up the value chain. It is also a long-run chase," says a media
analyst. | 
