Virtuos Acquires “Igor” Animation Company Sparx*

Shanghai, China, September 14, 2011 – Virtuos today announced that it has acquired the assets and core team of VFX and animation company Sparx*, reopening the company’s Vietnam studio. This deal allows Virtuos to further expand and to consolidate its services offering to clients in the movie industry under the Sparx brand.

Sparx is an animation and VFX company for feature films, most famous for being the animation company behind the 2008 feature film Igor starring John Cusack and Steve Buscemi.

Virtuos is one of the largest providers of digital entertainment production services, and has played a role in blockbuster movies since 2008, creating high-quality 3D models for films including this year’s hit film Rango.

“Virtuos is very well known in the gaming sector, and may also be the best-kept secret in Hollywood. We are very happy to partner with them, and add our specialized talents to their 800-strong team,” said Sparx General Manager Didier Montarou.

“Our origins in HD game production have afforded us the talents to create extremely high-quality assets, including digital doubles, for the movie industry. Bringing together Virtuos’ art production infrastructure with Sparx expertise in film-quality animation, cinematics and VFX, we will be able to offer a more fully integrated solution for all our clients,” said Gilles Langourieux, CEO, Virtuos.

The teams in Shanghai and Vietnam have already begun working together on new projects.  After moving into new facilities in November, Sparx Vietnam will be expanded back to its original size of over 100 staff in 2012. Sparx currently employs over 100 animation professionals in Saigon and Shanghai and aims to employ over 200 by the end of 2012.