Advised The Foundry, a developer of visual effects (VFX) software, on its sale to The Carlyle Group

Arma Partners is pleased to announce that it acted as exclusive financial adviser to The Foundry Visionmongers Ltd (“The Foundry”) on the sale of a significant majority stake to The Carlyle Group (“Carlyle”). The founders and management will continue to retain a significant minority stake and drive the continued growth and customer-focused innovation that the Company has consistently delivered. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in London with more than 100 employees, The Foundry develops visual effects (VFX) software that has been used to make recent “must see” movies including Avatar, Tron: Legacy, Alice in Wonderland, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours and Black Swan – all award winners or nominees.

Since the management buyout of the Company in June 2009 backed by Advent Venture Partners (“Advent”) and Falcon Investment Advisors (“Falcon”), the management team and founders have transformed the Company from a best-of-breed plug-in developer to the leading industry VFX software provider through a combination of unique product partnerships, sales execution, channel development and global expansion. During this period, headcount tripled from 35 to more than 100 and growth accelerated, with revenue increasing from £6.1 million to £14.9 million in 2010. The Company expanded its now 4,000-strong customer base to include The Moving Picture Company (MPC), Prime Focus, Dreamworks, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), Framestore, Cinesite, Double Negative and several other high-end facilities.

Carlyle will support The Foundry’s expansion and invest to develop their specialized product offerings. Furthermore, this investment will facilitate the company’s diversification into other adjacent market arenas as the product range continues to evolve and grow.