Miramax, the once powerful indie studio behind hits like Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare In Love, has been trying to cash-in on its library rather than produce new projects in recent years. Now, the company is reportedly looking for a buyer.
Sources told Bloomberg Friday that the company’s investors are looking to sell it for as much as $1 billion. Miramax, which was founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein and once owned by Disney, is now controlled by Colony Capital and Qatar Holding. They are currently speaking with banks to handle a potential sale.
Miramax’s library includes over 700 films, including the Best Picture Oscar winners Shakespeare In Love, The English Patient, Chicago and No Country For Old Men. Other beloved films in the library include Good Will Hunting and Pulp Fiction. The investors hope that titles like these will draw interest to justify the high asking price.
The Weinstein brothers founded Miramax in 1979 and it was bought by Disney in 1993. The Weinsteins were pushed out in 2005 and created their own company, The Weinstein Company, which has released Oscar winners The Artist and The King’s Speech. While they are no longer directly involved in the company, they did reunite with Miramax in 2013 to help produce TV series and Broadway shows based on the films that they once produced.
Disney sold Miramax to Colony Capital and Qatar Holding in 2010. Miramax is a co-producer on Bill Condon’s new film, Mr. Holmes with Ian McKellen.