VCL film + media
| VCL Film + Medien AG | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1981 |
| Seat | Munich |
| management | Datty G. Ruth |
| Branch | DVD program provider, fund management |
The VCL Film + Medien AG was a German company in the media industry that the independent DVD -Programmanbietern in the field of home entertainment mattered.
In contrast to companies such as Warner Bros. , which produce and then market films themselves, VCL Film + Medien AG was independent of producers from whom film licenses are acquired for marketing. The distribution to cinemas was left out. The share has been listed on the German stock exchange since 1999 , most recently in the General Standard market segment and only as a penny stock . The company filed for bankruptcy in 2010 .
Business content
The range of films ranged from blockbusters to genre films and also included animated series, edutainment and special interest programs. In 2006, the VCL Group expanded its business to include fund management services. The company operated together with the four subsidiaries wholly owned by the parent company, VCL Communications GmbH, Cine Plus Home Entertainment GmbH, First Film GmbH and Allied Funds Management GmbH, as well as their subsidiary Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH.
The contacts of the management of VCL Film + Medien AG to licensors, dealers and producers form the basis of the implementation of the process chain from purchasing to the exploitation of film licenses. This includes the first evaluation of DVDs, the second evaluation on special distribution channels, the add-on publishing / cover-mount business and services related to media fund management.
Company founder
Datty G. Ruth, founder of the VCL, began working as a concert organizer while studying economics. He managed groups in the music business and founded the record distributor Rainbow Records in 1975. This company took over the distribution of music videos for VCL Video, which he founded in 1981. Due to new marketing concepts and the expansion of the program to feature films, he was able to establish himself in the media industry.
From founding a company to going public (1981–1999)
VCL Video GmbH was founded in 1981 in Frankfurt am Main by Datty Ruth and Alan Judd. In 1983, the company moved to Munich . Virgin Vision, a Richard Branson company , acquired 51 percent and Ringier AG 30 percent of the shares - the name was changed to VCL / Virgin Communications GmbH. In 1989 Datty G. Ruth bought back the shares from Virgin and Ringier . A year later Live Entertainment took an 81 percent stake in VCL Communications GmbH and the company was changed to VCL / Carolco Communications GmbH.
In 1991 VCL started marketing the laser disc . With the advent of the video purchase market, VCL expanded its range of programs to include special interest topics such as Cindy Crawford, Discovery Channel and Dumont travel videos. In the same year VCL introduced a new marketing concept and thus secured competitive advantages over the years. The company name (company) was changed to VCL Communications GmbH in 1996. When the DVD was launched on the market in 1998, VCL was one of the most important providers of the new medium from the start. VCL Film + Medien AG was founded in 1999 and operated as the parent company of VCL Communications GmbH.
From IPO to bankruptcy (1999-2010)
In spring 1999 VCL Film + Medien AG went public in Frankfurt. When the company went public, the share capital was 13,294,000 euros. The major shareholder was "Ruth Holding GmbH" (40.26%).
In March 2000 the company was included in the MDAX share index . A capital increase to a total of 17,159,999 shares, combined with a 3: 1 share split, took place in 2000. In the same year, the Scandinavian media distributor Scanbox was acquired. In September 2001 VCL Film + Medien AG left the MDAX again due to insufficient market capitalization and was included in the smaller SDAX index .
Good theatrical results confirmed the production participation in the action classic Terminator 3 in 2003 . In the following years, VCL Film + Medien AG cooperated with leading publishing houses in Germany. This was the start of the booklet or add-on DVD. In 2005, the cooperation with Focus-Gesundheit followed in order to use the synergies of the TV broadcaster and VCL.
In December 2006, Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH was taken over by Allied Film Management GmbH.
In 2007 the company had 27 employees and sales of EUR 11.4 million. The balance sheet total as of December 31, 2001 was EUR 31.9 million.
On May 5, 2010 VCL Film + Medien signed a letter of intent to cooperate with SpiritON Media Group plc and CCV Cinema UK Ltd. On September 20, 2010, the group filed for insolvency at the Munich Regional Court. On March 7, 2011, the insolvency proceedings were opened before the Munich District Court .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ VCL - Founder and Board of Directors ( Memento of September 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on July 20, 2008
- ↑ Deutsche Börse: Deutsche Börse updates the composition of the share indices . Communication dated February 8, 2000. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) (Accessed June 12, 2008)
- ↑ www.scanbox.com: website
- ↑ Deutsche Börse: Deutsche Börse updates weighting in the stock indices . Announcement from September 19, 2001 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) (accessed June 12, 2008)
- ↑ www.finanznachrichten.de: VCL Film + Medien AG takes over management of Equity Pictures Medienfonds news aktuell
- ↑ a b VCL Film + Medien AG: Annual Report 2007 . Fiscal year December 1, 2006 - November 30, 2007. Published April 1, 2008. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ), PDF file, Retrieved June 12, 2008
- ↑ VCL Film + Medien AG: Cooperation negotiations continue ( Memento from September 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ VCL Film + Medien AG files for bankruptcy ( Memento from September 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Opening of bankruptcy over the assets of VCL Film + Medien AG . DGAP ad hoc announcement of March 7, 2011.