Independent film distributor Gravitas Ventures – founded 11 years ago in Los Angeles by Clevelanders Nolan Gallagher and Michael Murphy – has sold a majority stake to Germany’s Red Arrow Entertainment Group.
The deal is expected ultimately to lead to a complete buyout, according to Variety, a leading entertainment industry trade publication.
For now, CEO Gallagher, President Murphy and SVP of Business Affairs Brendan Gallagher retain a minority stake and will run the business as an independent unit of Red Arrow. All Gravitas Ventures employees will be retained, including the five employees based in Cleveland.
Gravitas releases more than 400 new films annually and has a library of more than 2,400 titles. The deal gives it a parent company with powerful global distribution, while Red Arrow, primarily a distributor of television programming, gains added film distribution and increased access the U.S. market.
In a statement posted to Gravitas’ Facebook page, the three principals said: “Our Red Arrow partners will open more doors for us and our network of directors, producers, platform partners and so on. We are so proud that in our 10+ years, Gravitas has grown into one of the largest all-rights film distributors in the world and the opportunity to team with a company like Red Arrow represents years of hard work and shared accomplishments.”
Salem Partners and Greenberg Glusker advised Gravitas Ventures on the transaction.
