Brash Entertainment Launches with $400 Million Investment led by ABRY Partners LLC

LOS ANGELES, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Brash Entertainment today announced its launch as a new video game company focused solely on the creation of high-quality games based on tent-pole movie releases, television, and music properties. Funded with $400 million from a syndicate led by ABRY Partners LLC, and including New York Life Capital Partners III, LP, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, PPM America Private Equity Fund II, LLP, Brash operates with a new business model for bringing licensed games to market.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070604/AQM134LOGO ) New Approach to Making Games

Brash will transform the way great film creativity is brought to life in games. Brash's innovative business model relies on matching each licensed project with the skills of the best independent development studios, top writers and creative talent. This collaboration is guided by an internal team of experienced producers, under the leadership of video game industry veterans. Brash currently has more than 40 licenses through partnerships with five major film studios, and twelve games in production.

"Brash is founded on the simple premise that top Hollywood creativity plus top game talent should equal great games," said Brash Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO Mitch Davis. "We are laser focused on delivering high-quality games. The other aspects of our business are left to the experts -- best of breed partners we've tapped for their specific expertise."

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, the world's leading distributor of home entertainment, will act as the distribution arm for Brash's video games, mobilizing its dedicated sales force and capitalizing on the opportunities created by each film's theatrical and DVD releases to achieve dramatic global impact.

"We are very excited about working with Brash as they grow into a major force in the gaming space," said Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. "We believe that our global game distribution services fit perfectly with the Brash strategic mission."

Industry Veterans

Brash was founded by Mitch Davis, Nicholas Longano, Thomas Tull and Bert Ellis. Brash Chairman and CEO Davis and President and COO Longano are most recently known for developing the world's first and largest in-game advertising network while at Massive Incorporated. Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures, conceived of and facilitated the Brash financial structure. Ellis, a leading media and technology industry entrepreneur, currently serves as President and CEO of Ellis Communications Group, a diversified media holding company.

"To me, great movies and great video games, if well-made, can be two equally dynamic mediums. Both are immersive: both offer pure escapism," said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures, whose recent films in partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures, include 300, Superman Returns and Batman Begins. "As a lover of films and an avid gamer, I find the opportunity to more closely align these two art forms very exciting."

The Brash leadership team is rounded out by a roster of video game and entertainment industry veterans:

-- Bill Chardavoyne, Chief Financial Officer -- Chardavoyne is an entertainment industry veteran with former leadership roles at Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Viacom/MTV Networks. Chardavoyne served as CFO of Activision, Inc. for six years. -- Yasmin Naboa, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing -- Naboa comes to Brash from Ubisoft, which she spurred to become one of the fastest growing video game companies. -- Larry Shapiro, Chief Creative Officer -- Larry Shapiro, Chief Creative Officer -- Named one of most influential people in the video game industry (Wall Street Journal, 2006) Shapiro, formerly at CAA, will play an integral role in bringing together Hollywood's brightest creative talent with the best game design and development teams for each project. -- Patrick Sweeney -- Senior Vice President, Business Affairs & General Counsel -- Specializing in law for the game industry, Sweeney has represented numerous publishers and developers, including Vivendi Games, Gas Powered Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Sierra Entertainment, GameStop, and Dreamcatcher Interactive. -- Tiffany Spencer, Vice President, Communications -- Spencer draws on more than twelve years of game industry experience most recently at leading publishers Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, and previously serving clients such as Microsoft, Viacom New Media, and Mplayer while at Edelman. Skilled Producers

Working alongside the best video game writers and creative directors, is an internal team of skilled producers. Their resumes include dozens of popular original and licensed games, including God of War, F.E.A.R., Mercenaries, Silent Hill, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butchers Bay, Star Wars: Battlefront, Tony Hawk Underground, Justice League Heroes, Medal of Honor, The Incredibles, SOCOM II, Twisted Metal, Gran Turismo 4, and Spider- man 2.

"The vast opportunities for creative and business collaboration between movies, music, television and the video game industry have yet to be powerfully actualized," said Erik Brooks of ABRY Partners. "Mitch, Nicholas and their team have both the industry insight and experience to build a fundamentally new kind of entertainment company that will employ a variety of creative media platforms. Brash has a unique business model that builds on the success and growth that other leaders in the industry have established and expands a complimentary genre of games that we believe has tremendous potential."

Strong Portfolio

Brash currently has licenses to develop games for films that include upcoming children's animated films, action-packed thrillers and even horror films. In fact, Brash Entertainment will be developing multiple games based on the blockbuster horror franchise "Saw" from Lionsgate , the leading independent filmed entertainment studio and its producing partner, Twisted Pictures. The Saw franchise has emerged as one of the most inventive and popular franchises in the horror genre, racking up worldwide box office grosses of more than $400 and has sold more than 15 million DVDs. According to Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns, "The "Saw" franchise is a proven brand in the film space, and it's important to us that the story translates to both the film and game experience in a way that is meaningful and exciting to both movie fans and gamers. The Brash team respects film IP, is passionate about games and cares about quality just as much as we do. They will partner with the best game developer for the project, and then we will all work together in close collaboration."

About Brash Entertainment

Brash Entertainment is a video game production company focused on developing compelling, high-quality games based on theatrical and original intellectual property. By collaborating closely with top creative talent from both Hollywood and the game industry, Brash delivers deeply satisfying games that extend the filmmakers' vision into the best possible entertainment experience for gamers. Brash's innovative model matches each game project with the skills of the best independent development studios, complemented by an internal roster of A-list game producers, writers, and creatives, under the leadership of video game and entertainment industry veterans. Launched with $400 million from a group of investors lead by ABRY Partners LLC, Brash is committed to opening new creative avenues for filmmakers and game developers, and providing gamers with exciting new ways to engage the stories, characters, and drama of their favorite movies.

About ABRY Partners, LLC

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, ABRY Partners invests in media, communications and information industries and enjoys a position as one of the most experienced and successful media-focused private equity investment firms in North America. Since 1989, ABRY has completed over $18 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity and mezzanine investments. Extensive experience and long-standing relationships with many different stakeholders in the media and information industries allow ABRY to contribute significant value to operating partners and portfolio companies.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate is the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, winning the 2006 Best Picture Academy Award(R) for CRASH, and the Company is a premier producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library of more than 11,000 motion picture titles and television episodes is a valuable source of recurring revenue and a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment's home video, digital distribution, interactive entertainment/videogames, direct-to-DVD production, technical operations and anti-piracy businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. WBHEG is responsible for the global distribution of content through DVD, electronic sell-through and transactional VOD, and delivery of theatrical content to wireless and online channels, and is also a significant worldwide publisher for both internal and third party videogame titles.