What don't hedge funds invest in these days? According to film bible Variety, hedge funds are finding the film industry offers great opportunities for impressive gains.
British company Number 9 Films has secured financing for How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, the satirical look at journo Toby Young's five-year stint at Vanity Fair, Variety reported.
"UK law firm Davenport Lyons brokered the deal with majority funder Aramid Entertainment, which is backed by hedge fund coin," it said.
Davenport Lyons partner Sam Tatton-Brown said: "Hedge funds are becoming increasingly interested in the film industry, where there can often be great opportunities for impressive gains." Davenport Lyons previously brokered funding deals with the Royal Bank of Scotland on Ken Loach's The Wind that Shakes the Barley and Alliance and Leicester for James Bond blockbuster Casino Royale.
Two years ago, on the other side of the ocean, Disney joined with the Kingdom Films partnership to finance 40 per cent of production and distribution costs for about 32 films over four years. Kingdom Films was set up by Credit Suisse First Boston, whose DLJ Investment Partners II, a $1.6 billion investment fund, was the lead investor in Kingdom Films.
Credit Suisse raised $135 million in equity and $370 million in debt from hedge funds, insurance companies and mezzanine funds.
