The French film group STUDIOCANAL has acquired a majority stake in the Italian production and distribution company Lucky Red. As the US industry portal Deadline STUDIOCANAL is taking over 51 per cent of the shares. The remaining 49 per cent will remain with the company founder Andrea Occhipintiwho will continue to manage the company.

Lucky Red, based in Rome, is one of Italy's established independent film distributors and production companies. The company was co-founded by Occhipinti in 1987 and has been active in recent years both as a distributor of international arthouse productions and as a co-producer of Italian and European films.

With this investment, STUDIOCANAL is further expanding its European presence and will also be directly represented in the Italian cinema market in future. Industry reports categorise the transaction as a strategic partnership. The purchase price was not officially disclosed; Italian media put the deal at around 26.6 million euros.

The two companies were already working together on a project-related basis before the takeover. The existing management structure at Lucky Red is to remain unchanged.

By entering the Italian market, STUDIOCANAL is strengthening its position as a pan-European studio in the production and distribution business.