DNEG, VFX Studio for ‘Dune,’ to Go Public in $1.7 Billion SPAC Deal
Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorDNEG, the visual effects and animation company whose credits include work on films “Dune,” “No Time to Die” and “Tenet,” plans to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The proposed deal implies a combined company enterprise value of $1.7 billion.According to DNEG, the pact will make it the only pure-play publicly traded VFX/animation company.DNEG announced Tuesday an agreement to merge with Sports Ventures Acquisition Corp., a so-called “blank check” company set up for the purposes of combining with another entity to become a public company.London-based DNEG expects to receive about $400 million in gross funds from the SPAC deal, including a “fully committed” $168 million common stock private investment in public equity (PIPE) from investors including affiliates of Sports Ventures, Novator Capital, affiliates of Fairfax Financial and Arbor Financial.