Magna Pacific

Magna Pacific logo

Magna Pacific is a leading independent film and home entertainment distributor headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, operating within Australia and New Zealand. As of August 2007, after a shareholder-approved and court-approved Scheme Of Arrangement, Magna Pacific became part of the Destra Corporation group of companies [3].

Company history

The company was incorporated in 1983. Principal activities of the company in the 1980s included the import and wholesale distribution of video cassettes, audio cassettes, micro cassettes, and computer equipment. In 1990, the company was publicly listed as Magna Pacific (Holdings) Ltd ^[1]. During the 1990s, the company expanded its activities into intellectual property licensing, acquiring videogram home entertainment distribution rights for a number of licensed properties. Rapid growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s saw Magna Pacific listed in Business Review Weekly's Fast 100 List [4], as the company expanded its distribution and acquired several key properties that ensured strong growth in home entertainment revenue. Magna Pacific followed the industry migration to DVD media during this period, eventually ceasing the distribution of VHS product in 2004.

In 2006, Magna Pacific entered the market as an all-rights film distributor with the acquisition and theatrical release of the first-run feature Just Friends. A series of all-rights film acquisitions have followed, including Becoming Jane (a joint venture with Dendy Films), Because I Said So, Bratz: The Movie (a joint venture with Hoyts), August Rush, Penelope, Chaos Theory, The Accidental Husbandand Righteous Kill, starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

Distribution facility

Magna Pacific's 15,500m² distribution facility at Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Queensland

Opened in July 2006, Magna Pacific's headquarters in Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Queensland is a custom-built distribution facility incorporating leading distribution and pick-pack-ship technology. The facility was featured in a Microsoft case study and corporate advertisement as a benchmark example for new distribution technology [5].

The opening of Magna Pacific's new facility coincided with a move to a new corporate image, with the company's traditional logo featuring a native rifle bird being updated to a tall ship's mast, a reflection of Magna Pacific's Australian heritage and the company's proximity to historical Moreton Bay.

2007 Ownership Saga

In early 2007, Magna Pacific became the subject of a protracted takeover saga between Lionsgate Films and Destra Corporation^[2] In August 2007, Magna Pacific shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of Destra's proposed Scheme Of Arrangement. After the assumption of ownership of Magna Pacific, Destra Corporation is now the largest independent home entertainment, music and media distributor in Australia.

Popular Brands, Series and Films

Magna Pacific is a leading videogram home entertainment distributor for many popular children's brands, television series, documentaries and feature films.

Children's Series

Current Series

• Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks
• Bratz
• Care Bears
• Chaotic
• Count Duckula
• DangerMouse
• Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes
• Fraggle Rock
• Grossology
• H2O: Just Add Water
• Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs
• Holly Hobbie and Friends
• Inspector Gadget
• Lizzie McGuire
• Little People
• Mew Mew Power
• My Little Pony
• Oban Star-Racers
• Pokémon
• Pucca
• Ruby Gloom
• Smurfs
• Strawberry Shortcake
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 series)
• Viva Piñata
• Yu-Gi-Oh!
• Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Expired Series

• Archibald the Koala
• Berenstain Bears
• Beyblade V-Force
• Blazing Dragons
• Code Lyoko
• Corduroy
• Corneil and Bernie
• Crush Gear
• Cubix
• Dennis the Menace
• Dog City
• Donkey Kong Country
• Dumb Bunnies
• The Fairly Odd Parents
• Fly Tales
• Franklin
• George and Martha
• Hamtaro
• Kenny The Shark
• Megaman NT Warrior
• Moville Mysteries
• The Neverending Story
• Percy the Park Keeper
• Pet Alien
• Pigeon Boy
• Pippi Longstocking
• Round The Twist
• Rupert
• Sabrina, The Animated Series
• SD Gundam Force
• Seaside Hotel
• Sheeep
• Shinchan
• Skippy: Adventures in Bushtown
• The Three Friends and Jerry
• Totally Spies!
• Tutenstein
• Zoids: Chaotic Century
• Zoids: Fuzors
• Zoids: New Century

Television Series

• The Bill
• American Chopper
• American Hot Rod
• A Country Practice
• Miami Ink
• The Cosby Show
• Roseanne
• 3rd Rock From The Sun
• Wire In The Blood
• Trailer Park Boys
• A Nero Wolfe Mystery

Documentaries

• Discovery Channel
• History Channel
• Biography Channel
• The Crocodile Hunter

Feature films

• Just Friends
• Becoming Jane
• Because I Said So
• Bratz: The Movie
• August Rush
• Penelope (2006 film)
• Over My Dead Body
• Chaos Theory (film)
• The Countess (film)
• The Accidental Husband
• The Mutant Chronicles
• Righteous Kill

References

1. ^ (ASX: MPH [1])
2. ^ [2].

External links

• Magna Pacific website
• Destra.com website