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IRISH IMAGE COLLECTION ACQUIRED
February 13, 2007
The Irish Image Collection, founded by George Munday, has been acquired by a group of Canadian investors known as Stock Image Collectors Inc. This group also owns a controlling interest in Design Pics Inc. (www.designpics.com), an RF company based in Edmonton, Canada.
The assets purchased include over 20,000 RM images belonging to over 100 photographers and covers the whole spectrum of Ireland and Northern Ireland, including land and cityscapes, life styles, business & technology, travel, culture and Irish heritage, social and political scenes, as well as diverse and ethnic subject matter.
The content is multi-format including panoramics and digital files as well as film. Stock Image Collectors also purchased the copyright to many of the images acquired. However, it is expected that many of the photographers will continue as contributors to The Irish Image Collection as it creates new rights managed and royalty free content.
The purchase price and the business terms of the asset purchase were not disclosed, nor has there been any indication as to what portion of the selling price will eventually be paid to the individual photographers and what portion will be retained by Mr. Munday. The acquisition was funded totally by cash.
DPI will set up an office in London where it will manage The Irish Image Collection that is expected to continue to retain its brand name and be marketed as an RM collection separate from DPI. A small percentage of the images may be converted to RF.
On behalf of the investors, Al Mondor said that they have an ongoing strategy to acquire other wholly owned imagery.
"We have built up the Collection to be the pre-eminent source of iconic photographic imagery of Ireland," stated George Munday. "The investment by DPI in marketing and distribution will provide the opportunity for global and international licensing.
The sale of the Collection will allow me to concentrate on photography, writing and the educational programs we provide for photographers at our Copper Coast Workshops here in Waterford, Ireland."
Design Pics currently has offices in Edmonton and Toronto, Canada. The Irish Image Collection was audited by The Virtual Picture Desk managed by George Sinclair. The VPD will be responsible for editing the Collection for global syndication and will assist with the management of international distribution. Sinclair can be contacted at GSinclair@VPDcorp.com.