Important Looking Pirates to Join Forces with Dream Machine FX
16 July 2024 - 4:00PM
Business Wire
In a major milestone, Important Looking Pirates (“ILP”)
announces it has merged into Dream Machine FX (“Dream Machine”,
“Group”), a leading collective of high-end VFX houses around the
world that already includes FIN Design + Effects, Mavericks VFX and
ZERO VFX. This strategic combination, enabled by Arenova Capital
(“Arenova”), marks Dream Machine’s entry into the European market
and elevates both companies’ scale and reach, with the combined
footprint stretching across 3 continents, 6 countries, and 11
cities.
Founded in 2007 in Stockholm by Niklas Jacobson and Yafei Wu,
ILP has built a reputation as one of the most distinguished VFX
houses in the world with an unparalleled body of work that spans
feature films, episodic series, game cinematics, and commercials.
For its exceptional work, ILP has been nominated for 15 Creative
Arts Emmy awards and 22 Visual Effects Society awards and is known
for its key contributions on The Mandalorian, Westworld, Lost in
Space, Lovecraft Country, Stranger Things and Indiana Jones and the
Dial of Destiny. It hopes to add to its award nomination totals
this season for its significant contributions this past year on
Shogun, Fallout, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Foundation.
Niklas Jacobson and Yafei Wu, Founders of ILP, shared their
enthusiasm, "For nearly two decades, we have built Important
Looking Pirates with passion and purpose and we are incredibly
proud of the culture that we have built and the amazing talent that
we have attracted. We’ve long held that we would only enter into a
strategic combination if we found a partner who shared our values
and our commitment to talent and artistry - we strongly believe
that we have found that partner in Dream Machine. We believe that
ILP and Dream Machine will strengthen one another and together we
can reach even loftier heights." As part of the transaction, both
founders of ILP will become meaningful shareholders in Dream
Machine FX. Furthermore, Niklas Jacobson will join the board of the
Group and Yafei Wu will become a Senior Advisor to Dream Machine
and Arenova.
David Li, Managing Partner of Arenova Capital and Chairman of
Dream Machine, added, “ILP is a truly one-of-a-kind VFX company and
we are humbled that they have chosen Dream Machine to be their
home. The driving force behind ILP’s success is that Niklas and
Yafei have always kept the focus on the things that matter most;
namely, ILP’s incredibly talented Pirates, a passion for
perfection, and investment into state of the art technology -
values that we share wholeheartedly at Dream Machine. We are
thrilled to welcome ILP and each and every Pirate to the Dream
Machine family and we look forward to nurturing, sharing and
embracing the Pirate spirit across the Dream Machine group.”
ILP will retain its creative autonomy and continue to operate
under its established brand and leadership. Eva Mautino, CEO of
ILP, will continue to lead the company and also become a Managing
Partner of the Group alongside Brian Drewes, Brendan Taylor, and
Chris Spry.
Eva Mautino, CEO of ILP, stated, “The partnership with Dream
Machine FX amplifies our strengths while allowing us to keep our
creative independence. Our common vision for the future creates a
fantastic opportunity to invest further in our team and expand our
capabilities. Together with ILP’s management and creative
leadership, I am excited for this new chapter and the possibilities
it brings to all our Pirates and our Clients.”
Chris Spry, Brendan Taylor and Brian Drewes, Managing Partners
of Dream Machine FX, jointly expressed, “Like many others in the
industry, we have long admired ILP’s exceptional artistry and depth
of talent. Welcoming the ILP team into the Dream Machine family
underscores our commitment to fostering a talent-first environment
and furthers our mission of building a scale VFX company with
artists at its core.”
About Important Looking Pirates
Important Looking Pirates is a world class visual effects and
digital animation studio, founded in Stockholm in 2007 by artists
for artists. ILP has since grown into an award winning studio, with
offices in Sweden, Germany and the UK. ILP’s vision is to be at the
vanguard of VFX content creation, renowned for the quality of our
work and services as well as for the depth of our company culture.
All Pirates, artists, technicians and support personnel are driven
by the passion for what we do, and always strive to push the limits
of what can be accomplished.
About Dream Machine FX
Dream Machine FX is a global collective of world class VFX
studios. With a mission of pushing the boundaries of creativity and
innovation in service of storytelling at the highest level, Dream
Machine FX serves the leading entertainment companies in the world
across film, television, commercial advertising, and interactive
gaming. Dream Machine FX has operations in North America, Europe
and Australia.
About Arenova Capital
Arenova Capital is a principal investment firm focused on
founder-owned and founder-led companies in the middle market.
Arenova seeks to catalyze growth in technology-enabled, media and
communications companies through thoughtful partnership, support
and investment, with the goal of building enduring industry
leaders. Arenova Capital is based in Dallas, TX and was founded in
2022.
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David Li Arenova Capital david@arenova.com Dream Machine FX
hello@dm-fx.com Important Looking Pirates info@ilpvfx.com