Holding company Safeguard Scientifics has sold its wholly-owned subsidiary LA-based post house Pacific Title & Art Studio to an investment group led by Celerity Partners, Ticonderoga Capital and venture capitalist William Daniels for $23 million.At the same time, the company let go industry guru and 30-year veteran, president and CEO, Phil Feiner. Pacific Title offers a range of digital and photochemical services for postproduction and archival applications in Hollywood’s motion picture and television industry. The company’s digital division was formed in 1989 and today it offers composting, 3-D CGI animation, title design, visual effects supervision, optical operations, large-format services (65mm), digital trailers, digital intermediate services and restoration/preservation. Earlier this year, Pac Title was honored with an Academy Award for its technical achievements in digital archiving – namely, its Rosetta digital film restoration process.The company, which began in 1919 when Leon Schlesinger, an animation artist for Warner Brothers, established a film titling lab, has worked on such landmark films as The Jazz Singer, Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur and Prince Valiant. Safeguard first acquired an interest in Pacific Title in 1997. “While Pacific Title is a fine company led by a solid management team, the company is in a business segment that is no longer considered core to our strategy,” explained Peter J. Boni, president and CEO of Safeguard.
Written by Scott Lehane
