Framestore, in partnership with Aleph Capital and Crestview Partners, has acquired Company 3/Method. Purchase price and other financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Framestore is headquartered in London with creative studios in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Montréal and Mumbai. The company has to its credit work on box office hits such as Avengers: Endgame, Blade Runner 2049 and Gravity as well as original series for streaming services such as Amazon, Netflix and Disney+, to immersive theme park experiences for the likes of Wanda and Lionsgate Entertainment World. Framestore has won Visual Effects Oscars over the years for Blade Runner 2049, Gravity and The Golden Compass.
Company 3/Method (C3M) encompasses a number of studios in addition to Company 3 and Method including Encore, and Stereo D, based across 11 cities in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia and India. Led by Stefan Sonnenfeld, C3M partners with many of the world’s leading directors, studios, advertising agencies and streaming platforms.
The newly enlarged business represents the next phase of the industry, uniquely uniting all aspects that support the making of entertainment and communications content–from concepts, through to digital and postproduction.
“Our vision for the future of our industry is storytelling across all the media of content delivery–from mobile to IMAX; and headset to theme parks,” said Sir William Sargent, co-founder and CEO of Framestore. “Stories originated in one medium need to be able to travel across all of these and be adapted creatively and technically for each. I have long admired Stefan and his achievements and our expanded team will lead in the innovation of this new content world.”
Company 3’s founder and C3M president Sonnenfeld stated, “The partnership represents the combining of two great teams, both bringing world class expertise from our respective fields. What we have achieved as individual companies sets the tone for what we can deliver as a united force. The road ahead represents an incredibly exciting journey that I am thrilled about.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with Sir William and Stefan in the creation of a world leading player in the creative services industry,” said Hugues Lepic, founder and CEO of Aleph Capital.
Brian Cassidy, partner and head of media at Crestview, added, “the combined business is strategically well-positioned to capitalize on the unprecedented global demand for video content across a range of distribution platforms.”
On the growth opportunities presented by the acquisition, Sir William continued, “Beyond the creative opportunities presented, the acquisition reinforces our global business footprint by deepening our roots in California, increasing our headcount in India, and giving our two companies the necessary scale to compete effectively.”
