Vertice to expand film, TV operation

Company raises $10.8 million

By EMILIANO DE PABLOS, JOHN HOPEWELL

MADRID — Vertice 360, one of Spain’s biggest production-distribution houses, will put through two capital increases worth a total Euros8.6 million ($10.8 million), aimed at fueling further expansion in its film and TV activities.

The capital increase is underwritten by TSS Luxembourg investment fund, backed in turn by leading Japanese investment bank Nomura.

TSS is advised by Thesan Capital, which intends to take up to 10% in Vertice. TSS will acquire any shares which don’t find buyers, Vertice announced Friday.

Launched October 2006, controlled by Spanish communications conglom Avanzit, and run by prexy Jose Maria Irisarri, with well-known Spanish movie exec Adolfo Blanco heading its film division, Vertice 360 houses Spanish distributors Manga, Notro and Versus Ent., plus production shingle Telespan 2000 and Telson, a post-production house.

Listing late 2007, Vertice has seen its share price battered by an ever-weaker, piracy-pummeled film market, and then August’s credit crunch, which appears to have strained cash-flow.

The capital hike should ease somewhat this fiscal pressure, and may help Avanzit in its ultimate aim of finding a buyer for Vertice.

“The share increase could help Vertice’s to grow even more in order to be sufficiently attractive for someone to want to acquire Avanzit’s stake,” an analyst said.

In a statement Friday, Irisarri said Vertice would now seek to strengthen its services operations.

“Television companies are increasingly thinking of out-housing technical services. We want to participate in this process,” he declared.