Owners of the "Terminator" franchise have tapped WME to handle the sale of rights to the sci-fier.
Pacificor LLC, which won the auction for the franchise in February, announced Thursday that it had selected the agency.
The Santa Barbara-based hedge fund, which has no experience in film production, had said following the auction that it had been contacted by "numerous" studios, producers, financiers and agents.
Pacificor received approval Feb. 10 in bankruptcy court for its bid of $29.5 million, along with a provision for payment to former owners Halcyon of $5 million per film for any sequel. Sony and Lionsgate -- which had combined to bid for the rights -- had been in talks with Pacificor after the fund beat out the studios in a Feb. 8 auction, but those discussions didn't lead to a deal.
Halcyon paid Mario Kassar $30 million for the "Terminator" rights in 2007, but Halcyon filed for Chapter 11 last summer as a result of a dispute with Pacificor, which had financed the acquisition. The "Terminator" assets include the rights to future pics, TV series, DVDs and merchandise.
"Terminator Salvation," the fourth film in the franchise, was produced by Halcyon toppers Victor Kubicek and Derek Anderson, with Warner Bros. handling domestic distribution and Sony taking international. It carried a production pricetag of about $200 million and took in $371 million worldwide.
"Terminator is one of the most recognized brands in global entertainment and will continue to excite new generations of fans," said WME chief exec Ari Emanuel in a statement.
Contact Dave McNary at
dave.mcnary@variety.com