EXCLUSIVE: It was only a year ago in Berlin that newly minted Global Road Entertainment CEO Rob Friedman told international buyers on the first day of the European Film Market that Global Road planned to spend $1 billion in film production over three years. The company would exploit an East-meets-West company that…

Raven Capital Management said it has completed its $87.5 million purchase of Open Road Films assets, including rights to 45 titles such as the Oscar-winning Spotlight, Chef and End of Watch. The finalizing of the agreement first disclosed in November adds another notable film library to Raven’s collection of assets…

EXCLUSIVE: I’ve confirmed that Rob Friedman will be leaving as chairman/CEO of beleaguered Global Road, immediately and as expected. Friedman hung in after the lenders took control of Donald Tang’s fusion of IM Global and Open Road, the latter of whose assets will be bought in bankruptcy by Raven Capital Management…

Raven Capital Management, which had offered a stalking-horse bid of $87.5 million for Open Road last month, will take control of the company after no other bidders emerged in the company’s bankruptcy proceeding. The auction in Delaware bankruptcy court originally scheduled for November 7 has been canceled (read the…

Open Road, the latest independent film company to hit the rocks, has received a “stalking-horse” bid of $87.5 million in Delaware bankruptcy court from a buyer identified as “OR Acquisition Co.” According to court documents, the bid is backed by New York-based private equity firm Raven Capital Management. The firm’s…

UPDATED at 6:50AM PT with company statement. Global Road has begun its bankruptcy process, as expected, filing for Chapter 11 protection. Following the scenario sources had floated, the filing was made under the Open Road releasing unit, with the IM Global division remaining separate. That maneuver is akin to cutting…

The focus of the indie film distribution this will squarely be on the Toronto International Film Festival, with the distinct exception of Global Road, where the road is expected to point toward Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. It is expected that the restructuring or liquidation picture will get clearer…

EXCLUSIVE: Word from inside the beleaguered Global Road is that layoffs loom this week, as early as tomorrow, this after lenders led by Bank of America took control of the company last week. Sources said a bankruptcy filing will become clear by tomorrow, but filing might take a little longer to materialize. Lead bank…

The town is lamenting the expected loss of another independent company, as Global Road heads into a weekend where it is releasing A.X.L., a film that will lose enough in releasing costs that it will likely tip Global Road into some kind of default situation with the banks that earlier this week took control of its…

Global Road has headed down a dicey path. Word is that staffers today were told that the banks backing Donald Tang’s venture are now in control of the company’s domestic theatrical production and distribution operations. TV and international sales are intact for now. The staff was told this today by CEO Rob…

EXCLUSIVE: Tang Media Partners Entertainment which recently formed the umbrella company Global Road Entertainment to oversee its acquisitions of Open Road Films, IM Global and IM Global Television, has just hired investment bankers Moelis & Co. and Morgan Stanley to raise what sources said is an additional $200M in…

UPDATED with more details: Global Road Entertainment was not expected to announce any major new film projects here at the European Film Market, but chairman and CEO Rob Friedman certainly dropped some big news today. In a meeting with international buyers on the first day of the Berlin-based market, the former…