Dori Media buys 50% of Argentine studio

Israeli Group pays $1.1 million for Central Park

By CHARLES NEWBERY

BUENOS AIRES -- Israel's Dori Media Group has agreed to pay $1.1 million in cash to acquire half of Argentina's Central Park Prods. in order to guarantee production time at the busy studios where the producer-distributor is shooting two of its best-selling telenovelas.

Argentina is one of the biggest producers of film and TV programs in Latin America and studio time is getting tougher to secure in Buenos Aires as demand increases.

DMG also will "benefit from the obvious synergies and cost savings generated by filming at what will be our own studios," said president and CEO Nadav Palti.

The acquisition, he added, is part of "our strategy to strengthen our production arm in Latin America to make us one of the major production houses in the region."

With production partners, DMG is filming womanizer comedy "Lalola" and teen novela "Patito feo" at the studios outside Buenos Aires, and has used the services for "El refugio" (The Shelter), about kids saving a theater, and the murder-revenge telenovela "Collar de esmeralda" (The Emerald Collar).

Central Park has produced more than 30 of its own novelas including runaway success "Muneca brava" (Wild Angel).

DMG said it has loaned Central Park around $1.8 million to help the production company pay down its $3.1 million debt. DMG will accept part of the loan repayment with future production filmed at the studies for DMG's Argentine production company, Dori Media Contenidos.

Celina Amadeo, who has produced novelas including "Chiquititas" and "The Shelter," owns the rest of Central Park and will take over as its CEO and become vice prexy of DMC, DMG said.