Neon Secures $200 Million+ Credit Facility Led by Comerica Bank
- Details
- Category: Business/Financial News
- Published on Sunday, 01 December 2024 09:40
- Written by Contributing Editor
Award-winning studio NEON announced the closing of a $200 million plus credit facility led by Comerica Bank. The funding, which follows NEON's previous revolving credit facility with Comerica Bank in October 2022 will support its core operations.
The funds will be allocated to bolster its core operations, including film acquisition, development, production, and distribution, while also expanding into new markets. The investment will further support strategic initiatives and strengthen its international footprint, driving additional growth.
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The deal, which was negotiated and managed by NEON Chief Financial Officer Ryan Friscia, comes after the company recently released "Anora," the highly-anticipated new film from Sean Baker starring Mikey Madison, which won the coveted Palme d'Or in Cannes and opened in select theaters October 18 to the highest per-screen average of 2024; Osgood Perkins' horror film "Longlegs" which is the highest grossing independent film of the year at $75 million domestically; and "Immaculate" starring Sydney Sweeney. Last week, NEON won studio of the year at the 2024 Clio Entertainment Awards, making it the first indie to win the award.
Derek Riedel, SVP of the Entertainment Group, led the transaction on behalf of Comerica Bank and remarked: "Comerica believes in the vision of NEON and couldn't be more thrilled to support their continued growth. Their ability to identify and curate film, while finding innovative ways to connect audiences with cinema, is unmatched. Supporting NEON and the independent film landscape is a core pillar of our business, and we are excited about the future."
The studio has continued to expand their production capabilities, most recently on the highly anticipated Boots Riley feature I Love Boosters starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, LaKeith Stanfield, Demi Moore, Eiza González, Poppy Liu, Taylour Paige, and Will Poulter; They Follow, the long-awaited sequel to the modern horror classic It Follows from visionary writer/director David Robert Mitchell, starring Maika Monroe; and Michael Covino's Splitsville starring Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona.
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Upcoming releases include The Seed of the Sacred Fig on November 27, which has been selected as the German entry for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards®; Josh Oppenheimer's The End, a golden-age musical starring Academy Award® winner Tilda Swintono on Dec. 6th; and the genre-bending, visionary documentary 2073 from Academy Award®-winning and BAFTA-winning director Asif Kapadia which will be released in select U.S. theaters on December 27th, following its well-received world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and screenings at the BFI London Film Festival, Sitges, and others.
About NEON
In only seven years, NEON has garnered 32 Academy Award® nominations (7 this year), 6 wins, including Best Picture, and has grossed over $300M at the box office. The company continues to push boundaries and take creative risks on bold cinema such as Bong Joon Ho's Parasite, which made history winning four Academy Awards®, becoming the first non-English-language film to claim Best Picture. The film also unanimously won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and grossed over $54M at the domestic box office.
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Recent and upcoming NEON releases include: Anora from Sean Baker, which won the Palme d'Or in Cannes and released in theaters on October 18 to the highest per-screen average of 2024; and The Seed of the Sacred Fig from Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, which NEON picked up out of this year's Cannes Film Festival and has been selected as the German entry for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards®.
As a burgeoning leader in the production space, NEON's recent and upcoming in-house productions include: David Robert Mitchell's They Follow starring Maika Monroe; Brandon Cronenberg's Infinity Pool; Bishal Dutta's It Lives Inside; and Joshua Oppenheimer's The End, a golden-age musical starring Academy Award® winner Tilda Swinton.
NEON launched its international sales outfit ahead of the Venice Film Festival in 2023, handling titles including: Michael Covino's Splitsville starring Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona; Kogonada's A Big Bold Beautiful Journey starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell; Jason Buxton's Sharp Corner starring Ben Foster and Cobie Smulders, which premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival; and Steven Soderbergh's Presence, which made its world premiere in Sundance, where NEON picked up the worldwide rights.
NEON has amassed a library of over 110 films, with noteworthy releases including: Anatomy of a Fall from Justine Triet, which won the Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay and earned NEON its fourth consecutive Palme d'Or win at its world premiere in Cannes; Wim Wenders' Perfect Days, which was the Japanese nomination for the 96th Academy Awards®; and Robot Dreams from Pablo Berger, which received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Feature. It also includes the Oscar®-nominated documentaries All the Beauty and the Bloodshed and Fire of Love; 2022's highest grossing documentary, Moonage Daydream; and three-time Academy Award® nominee Ruben Östlund's Triangle of Sadness; Flee, which made history becoming the first film to score an impressive trifecta of Oscar® nominations; The Worst Person in The World, which was nominated for Original Screenplay and International Feature Film at the Academy Awards®; Julia Ducournau's Palme d'Or winner, Titane; and Craig Gillespie's I, Tonya, which garnered multiple Academy Award® nominations, one win for Allison Janney and amassed over $30M in domestic box office.
Following a successful collaboration on I, Tonya in January 2018, 30WEST (Dan Friedkin's and Micah Green's strategic venture) partnered with NEON's Tom Quinn (Founder & CEO) and Tim League (Co-Founder) to become majority investors in the company.
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About Comerica Bank
This year, Comerica Bank celebrates its 175th anniversary. A subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA), Comerica Bank is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and is strategically aligned by three business segments: The Commercial Bank, The Retail Bank and Wealth Management. Comerica, one of the 25 largest commercial U.S. financial holding companies, focuses on building relationships and helping people and businesses be successful, providing nearly 380 banking centers across the country with locations in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Texas. Founded on Aug. 17, 1849, in Detroit, Michigan, Comerica continues to expand into new regions, most recently in the Southeast, including North Carolina and Mountain West Market in Colorado. Comerica has offices in 17 states and services 14 of the 15 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, as well as Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $79.7 billion at Sept. 30, 2024.
