Warner Bros. new financing partner RatPace-Dune Entertainment has secured a $300 million credit facility to fund as many as 75 new movies, the company announced on Tuesday. RatPac-Dune Entertainment already agreed to provide $450 million in financing for Warner Bros. movies under a deal the two signed in September.
This line of credit, arranged by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and a couple of other firms, helps ensure the financing entity has money to fall back on.
Filmmaker Brett Ratner and Australian mogul James Packer formed RatPac Entertainment last December, and then allied with Steven Mnuchin’s Dune Entertainment to form the combined company. Dune used to have a deal with Fox.
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Fresh off the departure of co-financing partner Legendary Entertainment, Warner Bros. had been in the market before making a deal with RatPac-Dune. Unlike the studio’s deals with co-financiers Village Roadshow and Legendary, this is a passive deal. Dune-RatPac will not be able to choose which movies they help finance.
“The credit facility arranged by Bank of America Merrill Lynch is an important part of our new and exciting agreement with Warner Bros.,” Mnuchin said in a statement. “We appreciate the bank’s leadership in providing financing to help this partnership move forward.”
Daniel Timmons and Brian Stearns of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Entertainment Industries Group coordinated the facility while JPMorgan Chase and Union Bank also led on it.
“We’re pleased to support the RatPac-Dune Entertainment team as it embarks on the new relationship with Warner Bros.” Timmons said in a statement. “This agreement is another example of how Bank of America Merrill Lynch has been able to leverage its platform to help entertainment companies with their financial needs.”