Magna Pacific

Magna Pacific is a leading independent film and home entertainment distributor headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, operating within Australia and New Zealand. As of August 2007, after a shareholder-approved and court-approved Scheme Of Arrangement, Magna Pacific became part of the Destra Corporation group of companies.[1]

Company history

The company was incorporated in 1983. Principal activities of the company in the 1980s included the import and wholesale distribution of video cassettes, audio cassettes, micro cassettes, and computer equipment. In 1990, the company was publicly listed as Magna Pacific (Holdings) Ltd.[2] During the 1990s, the company expanded its activities into intellectual property licensing, acquiring videogram home entertainment distribution rights for a number of licensed properties. Rapid growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s saw Magna Pacific listed in Business Review Weekly's Fast 100 List,[3] as the company expanded its distribution and acquired several key properties that ensured strong growth in home entertainment revenue. Magna Pacific followed the industry migration to DVD media during this period, eventually ceasing the distribution of VHS product in 2004.

In 2006, Magna Pacific launched Tokyo Night Train, a label to release anime to compete against Madman Entertainment and Siren Visual. However, only 6 titles were released before the company folded in the end of 2007 and all of its titles have been re-released by Madman Entertainment.

In 2006, Magna Pacific entered the market as an all-rights film distributor with the acquisition and theatrical release of the first-run feature Just Friends. A series of all-rights film acquisitions have followed, including Becoming Jane (a joint venture with Dendy Films), Because I Said So, Bratz: The Movie (a joint venture with Hoyts), August Rush, Penelope, Chaos Theory, The Accidental Husband and Righteous Kill, starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

Distribution facility

Opened in July 2006, Magna Pacific's headquarters in Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Queensland is a custom-built distribution facility incorporating leading distribution and pick-pack-ship technology. The facility was featured in a Microsoft case study and corporate advertisement as a benchmark example for new distribution technology.[4]

The opening of Magna Pacific's new facility coincided with a move to a new corporate image, with the company's traditional logo featuring a native rifle bird being updated to a tall ship's mast, a reflection of Magna Pacific's Australian heritage and the company's proximity to historical Moreton Bay.

2007 ownership saga

In early 2007, Magna Pacific became the subject of a protracted takeover saga between Lionsgate Films and Destra Corporation[5] In August 2007, Magna Pacific shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of Destra's proposed Scheme Of Arrangement. After the assumption of ownership of Magna Pacific, Destra Corporation is now the largest independent home entertainment, music and media distributor in Australia.

Popular brands, series and films

Magna Pacific is a leading videogram home entertainment distributor for many popular children's brands, television series, documentaries and feature films.

Children's series

Current series

Expired series

Television series

Documentaries

Feature films

In addition to this Magna Pacific owns the Australian and New Zealand distribution rights to the entire RKO Radio Pictures library. This includes Citizen Kane and King Kong

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ (ASX: MPH )
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ .

External links