Disney snatches up UTV
The Walt Disney Company has acquired media corporation UTV along with its subsidiary, game publisher UTV Ignition Entertainment Ltd, according to a Eurogamer report of a story that originated from BBC News. UTV is an India-based firm that specializes in film, television, animation and gaming. Disney’s cost for acquiring a controlling interest has not been made public as of this time. India’s cabinet just last month approved the entertainment conglomerate’s bid to pick up shares of UTV that it was not already in possession of.
“This acquisition expands our footprint significantly and allows us to more effectively build, monetise and brand multi-platform franchises, and deliver a rich library of content to the world’s second largest population,” said Andy Bird, chairman of Disney International.
In addition to gaining a stronger foothold in Indian media, Disney has expanded its gaming division on an international scale. They have not yet released any details as to what their plans for UTV Ignition are. Headquarted in the UK, the publisher is responsible for the recently released Quarrel on XBLA. They previously published a number of XBLA titles, including Blacklight: Tango Down, and retail games such as El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. As Eurogamer points out, they hit some rocky waters in 2011 and were forced to lay off a number of employees and cancel production on WarDevil as a result.