Visual China Group (VCG), a Chinese image licensing company, proudly declared on Friday the acquisition of the content licensing and image division unit of photo library Corbis Entertainment. It is a company formerly owned by Microsoft's co-founder Bill Gates. VCG is a primary visual communication and new media company in China, and one of the largest companies in the global image industry. There was no disclosure of its financial terms on the agreement.
As indicated in its terms of agreement, the company will now be owned and managed by Unity Glory, a division of Visual China Group, Technology News China reported. They will handle the former company's motion and images archives, trademarks and names associated with the Corbis Motion, Corbis Images and Veer licensing brands. Getty Images will distribute Corbis' content.
As Corbis Entertainment has sold its image assets to Unit Glory, it will be rebranded in the next few months, with Branded Entertainment Network (BEN) and other businesses within the division will operate under a new brand name, Business Wire reported. It surely reflects the company's goals and focus on entertainment advertising.
BEN was launched two years ago, bringing technology, planning, search, and analytics to product merging, resulting to coherent product placement opportunities, and unparalleled scale on a global basis.
Aside from BEN, the rebranded image company will continue to provide rights representation for icons and celebrities. It will also function as a market leading content business. The company's listing of represented icons includes Dr. Martin Luther King, Muhammad Ali, Sophia Loren, Bruce Lee, Marvin Gaye, Steve McQueen, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein, among others.
VCG's Ms. Liang adds that they hope Corbis Entertainment will do well with its future development. They also look forward to searching for more future partnership opportunities in China, as they manage to grow their BEN and other content businesses.
Allen & Company LLC represented Corbis, one of the primary image service providers in the sale.