Shibasish Sarkar, the new CEO of Reliance Entertainment, is leading the formation of the country’s first special purpose acquisition firm. Sarkar is the founder, CEO, and largest shareholder of International Media Acquisition Corp., which is based in New Jersey. Over the next 12-18 months, he hopes to generate $200 million to 230 million from an IPO on the NASDAQ market. SPACs, also known as “blank check firms,” have been extremely common in recent months, as a means of raising speculative capital and encouraging privately-held businesses and start-ups to receive stock listings. Without a track record of their own and no significant market activities, SPACs rely on their bankers’ financial muscle and their founders’ reputations to pull off the deal for their first move.
Sanjay Wadhwa, managing partner of AP International Group, one of the largest Tamil-language IP owners; David Taghioff, former co-head of CAA’s global client management department and now CEO of film funder Library Pictures International; and others make up IMAC’s board of directors. Greg Silverman, the new CEO of Stampede Ventures and the previous president of creative growth and global distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures, whose credits include “The Hangover,” “The Dark Knight,” “Gravity,” “Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” and “Suicide Squad.” Vishwas Joshi, a former Disney India executive, has been appointed IMAC’s finance chief, as well as noted American businessman Paul Pelosi Jr. and Suresh Ramamurthi, chairman of CBW Bank.
IMAC’s development direction is unclear, as is characteristic of SPACs in the pre-listing period. The vehicle intends to make acquisitions in the next year or so of businesses in North America, Europe, and Asia, according to its website. These companies could be worth between $150 million and $500 million, compete in the television and film industry, and cost IMAC at least $160 million to acquire.
A portion of the company’s preliminary prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission contains material related to the Indian entertainment industry, which it defines as a mobile digital first economy, and the market that sells the most movie tickets in the world, indicating that the company has a clear Indian focus. A deal in which IMAC buys out Reliance Entertainment will be a rational outcome of Sarkar being able to form a SPAC while still working. Deepak Nayar (“Buena Vista Social Club,” “Bend It Like Beckham,” “Bride and Prejudice”), the owner of Kintop Pictures in Los Angeles, is also listed as an IMAC board member.
That could eventually put an end to troubled billionaire Anil Ambani’s (younger brother and frequent business rival of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani) operation, which has yielded a few highlights but a lot of pain. The Reliance – Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADA) owns Reliance Entertainment, which arose from the ashes of the former Adlabs cinemas, distribution, and post-production empire.
