Technicolor has acquired London commercials and promos VFX giant The Mill for £190m (€259m).

Technicolor said the deal would establish its leadership in visual effects and digital creation across high-end content, including cinema, TV and advertising.

The Mill will become part of Technicolor’s stable of content creation facilities which also includes London’s MPC, Toronto-based VFXC studio Mr. X and Mikros Image in Paris.

The company also highlighted “significant talent and expertise” relating to emerging technologies such as virtual reality as one of the reasons for the deal.

Technicolor chief executive Frederic Rose said: “In acquiring The Mill, we are executing on our strategic objective of enhancing our market position in visual effects while improving profitability and revenue growth concurrently with accelerating deployment of emerging technologies.

“In The Mill, we have found a company that aligns with our focus on excellence in talent, technology and operational performance. It is a perfect fit.”

Founded in 1990, The Mill has a presence in New York, LA and Chicago as well as the UK.

In 2011 The Mill was sold by private equity firm Carlyle to Barclays Private Equity in a deal that valued the business at £119m. Carlyle acquired its majority stake in the company in 2007.

The Mill pulled out of the TV VFX market in 2013.