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Prime Focus Technologies, the Mumbai-headquartered technology subsidiary of Prime Focus, signed an agreement to acquire Culver City-headquartered DAX in a deal valued at $12,475,000. This included a base of $9.1 million plus incentives.
DAX develops cloud-based software used in production, including Emmy-winning Digital Dailies, while PFT’s Clear cloud-based media platform services broadcasters with workflow, asset management and distribution tools.
“DAX gives us access to the production studio marketplace. By gaining access, we extend our value to studios and broadcasters,” Ramki Sankaranarayanan, PFT’s founder and CEO, told The Hollywood Reporter.
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“Production has become decentralized, so you want a system that is geographically agnostic,” he said. “Our vision is to build the best enterprise platform for production on the cloud by taking a fresh look at media workflows through the lens of a studio that wants to efficiently collaborate across divisions with its entertainment content before, during and after the production phase.”
With the acquisition, DAX CEO Patrick Macdonald-King and his 50-person team, based in Culver City and Toronto, become employees of PFT, with Macdonald-King joining as president of PFT North America. The product brands DAX and Digital Dailies will continue to be used.
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PFT maintains roughly 1,000 employees — including 250 in R&D and product development — across its operations in Mumbai, Los Angeles, New York, London, Cape Town and Johannesburg. PFT clients include Bloomberg, AP, Disney India and Star India.
DAX’s customers include Warner Bros. Television Studios, CBS Television Studios, 20th Century Fox Television Studios and Legendary Pictures. Macdonald-King noted that the deal “extends DAX’s support of file-based workflows across the enterprise…. All [DAX] tech support, client services, product design and account management will remain in Los Angeles but will also expand to the PFT offices in New York and London to better service the East Coast and Europe.”
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The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks, and the companies plan to exhibit together at next month’s NAB Show in Las Vegas. Plans for the technology lineup including DAX|Mobile for iPhone, DAX|Box, the latest Clear capabilities, and a prototype of a product combining the efforts of both entities.
E-mail: Carolyn.Giardina@THR.com
Twitter: @CGinLA
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