Adelaide’s Rising Sun Pictures has been acquired by the LA-headquartered FuseFX, in a deal that is argued to “position the business for global strategic growth”.
In addition to LA, FuseFX has studios across the world including in New York, Atlanta, Vancouver, Montréal, Toronto, and Bogotá. With the acquisition of RSP, it bolsters its staff numbers to 800.
RSP was founded in 1995 by Tony Clark, Gail Fuller and Wayne Lewis, growing to become one of Australia’s most successful independent VFX businesses. Its credits span projects such as Mortal Kombat, Black Widow, Ford v Ferrari, Spider-Man: Far from Home, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Captain Marvel, The Predator, The Boys season 2, Game of Thrones, Thor: Ragnarok, The Hunger Games, Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Australian projects in recent years include Peter Rabbit, Deadline Gallipoli, ANZAC Girls and The Water Diviner.
Under the FuseFX deal, RSP will continue to operate under its brand and managing director Clark.
Remaining in place are also chief financial officer Gareth Eriksson; head of business development, Jennie Zeiher; executive assistant, Maree Friday; head of people & culture, Scott Buley; and head of production and executive producer, Meredith Meyer-Nichols.
There will be no operational changes to the business, and the team will be looking to add talent after a recent expansion to its headquarters that has capacity of 270 crew.
“Tony, Gail, Wayne and the entire team at Rising Sun Pictures have created one of the most well-established and respected independent studios in the world,” said David Altenau, founder and CEO of FuseFX.
“Their commitment to delivering the highest quality art and service to their clients has helped make them an icon in the visual effects industry. Their previous work and position in the industry make them a fantastic partner for FuseFX.
“We’re thrilled to be joining forces with Rising Sun Pictures to help fuel their ambitious expansion plans and to offer an even broader range of skill sets, geographic locations and storytelling solutions to our clients at the level of quality and service they demand.”
Clark said: “We’re very excited to be partnering with FuseFX, which comes at an ideal time as we grow to meet the demand over the coming years. Our vision for Rising Sun Pictures is to be a cornerstone component of the next generation global full-service visual effects company, and with the FuseFX partnership, we can achieve this vision to ensure that we stay at the forefront of visual effects production and remain a trusted creative partner to our clients.”
“I’d sincerely like to thank my fellow founders and shareholders for the last 25 years. We have all been crucial to the success of RSP, culminating at this pivotal moment in time. RSP will embark on an expansion plan over the next few years, and we’re grateful to be partnering with David Altenau and the team at FuseFX to help fully realize RSP’s potential.”
FocalPoint Advisors, LLC served as financial advisor to FuseFX and Will Berryman advised RSP.