Mumbai and LA (CA, US), April 7 2013: Visual-effects company Rhythm & Hues Studios which won accolades for its work  ( much of it done in Mumbai and Hyderabad) on this year’s Oscar winning film Life of Pi,  has been acquired by an affiliate of competitor Prana Studios Inc,  for $1.2 million in cash and the assumption of up to $17 million in debt, the Wall St. Journal reports. Prana affiliate 34x118 Holdings Inc. emerged the winner in an auction after Rhythm & Hues filed for bankruptcy protection in February this year.

Like R&H, Prana has a strong creative team in Mumbai  in addition to Los Angeles,  and has done animation work on movies, including "Planes," Walt Disney Co.'s up coming spinoff of "Cars."

Jeffrey Okun, Prana's senior vice president of visual effects has promised that R&H would be run as a stand-alone company. Recent films of R&H include the other Oscar winner "Django Unchained”;  "The Bourne Legacy," "The Hunger Games" and "Snow White and the Huntsman.”

Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group said, “We are delighted to have been early-stage investors in Prana Studios. This bold move will make them the animation / VFX leaders with global delivery capability and will substantially increase the scale and complexity of their work.”

Link to report in Animation Xpress