Ymagis Group has completed the sale of its Éclair Classics subsidiary to L’Image Retrouvée, a subsidiary of the Italian company L’Immagine Ritrovata. The company emphasized that this agreement has no impact on the rest of the Éclair business.
Éclair Classics has been focusing on restoration activities, an area of expertise in which it is the leader in France, with close to 800 feature films restored. The activity generated €3.7million in revenue in 2019.
Through this operation, Ymagis Group secures the future of the restoration activity by teaming up with an international reference for the restoration of the world’s film heritage. L’Image Retrouvée is a French-registered company owned by L’Immagine Ritrovata and Simest, a subsidiary of the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Group specialized in lending support to the growth of Italian companies since 1991 by internationalising their activities.
The transaction ensures continuity of service for Éclair Classic’s customers, due in large part to the fact that the vast majority of the workforce have been retained and will be relocated to L’Image Retrouvée’s offices in central Paris. It also includes a licence agreement for the use of the Éclair Classics trademark and a commercial agreement regarding a number of Éclair’s other activities.
Jean Mizrahi, president and CEO of Ymagis Group said, "This agreement is an important step in the recovery of the Éclair business unit. The operation also ensures the technical excellence and long-term future of Éclair Classics’ restoration activities, which continue to play a key role in the valuation of France’s cinema heritage.”
Davide Pozzi, CEO of L’Image Retrouvée said, “The company’s new name, Éclair Classics, is a tribute to the cultural policy of preserving film heritage upheld by the rights-holders and cinematheques all over the world. Through events such as Cannes Classics, Bologna’s Il Cinema Ritrovato festival and the Festival Lumière in Lyon, heritage films have taken on greater importance with an ever-increasing audience. The name Éclair Classics is an act of acknowledgement of and passion for these events and those who have made them possible.”