In a move that signals future growth, The Exchange has closed a revolving line of credit funded by Pacific Mercantile Bank to be used for future acquisitions.
The self-funded company is celebrating its five-year anniversary at the American Film Market.
The Exchange’s AFM line-up includes the documentary “Gleason,” “King Coba,” “A Street Cat Named Bob,” “Kickboxer: Vengeance,” “Kickboxer: Retaliation,” “Shimmer Lake” and a pair of upcoming films — Stephanie Laing’s “Irreplaceable You” and Justin Chadwick’s historical drama “The Lady and the Panda,” starring Rebecca Ferguson and Chinese star Liu Ye.
“This line of credit with Pacific Mercantile Bank will tremendously increase our acquisitions power and allow us to take the company to the next level with an even stronger line-up at each market,” said Brian O’Shea, CEO of The Exchange.
“The Lady and the Panda” centers on Ruth Harkness, the first person to bring a live panda from China to the United States. She was a New York socialite whose wealthy, explorer husband died unexpectedly in 1936. She took over his expedition to China, joined forces with a Chinese guide, and traveled into the uncharted Himalayas, where they rescued an orphaned baby panda.
The Exchange’s first represented a Lacy Chabert romantic comedy “Slightly Single in L.A.” and has worked on “The Spectacular Now,” “Dear White People,” “Bottle Shock,” “Rob the Mob,” “Swelter,” “The Last Five Years” and “Wild Oats.”
O’Shea told Variety that the company, which has about a dozen employees, is aiming to act as a one-stop shop in the independent sector by focusing on the myriad of details needed to get films from development to distribution.
“We are all about reports, collections and transparency,” he said. “We’re aiming to do what IM Global and FilmNation have done. You really have to do everything well in this day — development, financing, sales.”
“We’re excited to continue our long-standing relationship with Brian and his team. The Exchange is a company on the rise and we feel privileged to be supporting them,” said Adrian Ward, Entertainment Industries Division Manager at Pacific Mercantile Bank.
