LONDON -- U.K. video-on-demand website FilmOn has floated on the Frankfurt stock exchange in a bid to fund its expansion into the U.S., Germany, France and Australia.
The company, which put 20% of its stock on the market, estimates its market capitalization to be around £300 million ($433 million).
The site, which launched in January 2008, inked its first deal with a Hollywood major earlier this month with a distribution pact with Paramount Digital Entertainment Intl.
Par titles, including "Iron Man," "Transformers," "Cloverfield," "No Country for Old Men" and "Mission: Impossible III," will be available for download in the U.K. on the same day they hit retail shelves.
FilmOn already has deals with several indie distribs, including Granada, CBC, Playboy, Screen Media, Revelation Films and Cinetel Films.
The site, which claims more than 200,000 unique visitors a day, has more than 3,500 titles available for download.
It enables content owners to sell pics direct to the consumer via the site, allowing them to control price and availability territory by territory.
FilmOn also produces its own content, including comedy shows and documentaries.
Advertising on the site is marketed by 4DS, a subsidiary of U.K. broadcaster Channel 4.
FilmOn is owned by filmmaker and actor Alki David, who was ranked as the U.K.'s 47th richest person last year by London newspaper the Times. It estimated his wealth at $2.2 billion, mostly derived from his family's Athens-based Leventis-David group, which owns Coca-Cola bottling plants in 23 countries.
David also runs production shingle 111 Pictures with producer Elliott Kastner and modeling agency Independent Models.
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Contact Leo Barraclough at
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