Miramax is moving forward in its quest to attract a buyer.
The indie studio behind “Pulp Fiction,” “The English Patient” and “Shakespeare in Love” has tapped Morgan Stanley to attract bidders for the company and hopes to sell for $1 billion or more, according to a report in Bloomberg.
A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Miramax did not immediately respond to a request for comment. QInvest, the Qatari investment bank, will serve as co-adviser, the Bloomberg report states, citing unnamed sources.
Qatar, Colony and construction magnate Ron Tutor led the consortium of investors that bought Miramax in 2010 from the Walt Disney Co. for $660 million. Tutor later sold his stake to Qatar Holding. The new ownership aggressively mined the studio’s library of award-winning films, signing distribution agreements with streaming services like Netflix. In 2013 the Weinstein Company signed a multiyear co-production and development pact to create sequels and live stage show adaptations of films from the Miramax canon. Miramax was founded in 1979 by Harvey and Bob Weinstein.
