The rumoured£50m price tag for the Moving Picture Company (MPC) has silenced industry talk of a management buyout.
The rumoured £50m price tag for the Moving Picture Company (MPC) has silenced industry talk of a management buyout.

It is believed a deal for the ITV-owned company has been agreed in principle with French technology group Thomson. The price has yet to be decided, although it is thought to be likely to be more than £50m. The reports have halted chatter within the post industry that managing director David Jeffers is entertaining the idea of a management buyout.

One Soho managing director said: 'Most banks favour an MBO with a successful company like MPC, but when you're talking about figures over £50m I doubt that's on the cards.'

Another industry insider added: 'You'd only go for an MBO if you think you could add value to that company. Thomson has interests in London, Singapore and the States. It would add value for them.'

The MPC source would not confirm whether Thomson was on the brink of buying the company.

MPC's high-profile CGI projects include last weekend's Virtual History: The Secret Plot to Kill Hitler.