Prime Focus World, Double Negative to Merge

DNeg's Current MD and CEO to Lead Combined VFX Business, Including Vancouver Expansion

Mumbai's VFX, animation and 3D conversion giant Prime Focus World (PFW) is merging with Double Negative, the feature film VFX facility with offices in London and Singapore.

The new VFX business will operate under the Double Negative banner and will be led by that company's current managing director, Alex Hope, and its CEO, Matthew Holben. In addition to its existing offices, DNeg now plans to have a creative presence in Vancouver, where PFW already operates.

"Prime Focus has proven over the last five years the undeniable benefits of global collaboration: the flexibility of working in different time zones; the coming together of creative talent from across the globe; and the ability to leverage tax incentives," Prime Focus founder and Prime Focus World CEO Namit Malhotra said in a prepared statement. "We can now bring this together with Double Negative's unquestionable creative excellenece to build a truly formidable offering."

Prime Focus said its revenues will more than double after the deal is closed. In a television interview, Malhotra said PFW will hold about 80 percent of the company after the merger, down from its current 94 percent stake. For more on the deal, see the corporate press release.

PFW's recent workload has included Maleficent, Edge of Tomorrow, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, while DNeg has delivered VFX for titles including Godzilla, Interstellar, Jupiter Ascending, Exodus: Gods and Kings, and Hercules, the companies said.