The Effingham County Industrial Development Authority has approved the issuance of up to $300 million in bonds so that Medient Studios can build its movie production and entertainment complex.
Manu Kumaran, chairman and CEO of Medient, said Friday both parties have been meeting the requirements in the memorandum of understanding, which included proof of the Los Angeles-based company’s financial capability.
“We’re very, very happy” with how the project is progressing, he said.
The parties are finishing the remaining closing conditions and definitive agreements due to be completed prior to July 17. Kumaran said he expects a groundbreaking to be held in late July.
He said the company expects to start on two films soon, an English action-adventure movie with “lots of guns and lots of violence” and an Indian coming-of-age movie with an Indian student at an American university, some of which will be filmed near Georgia Southern in Statesboro.
The IDA on Thursday approved a resolution that allows for the formal process to begin for the issuance of industrial development bonds for the project, which will be on the IDA ’s 1,500 acres at Interstate 16 and Old River Road.
The bonds are a pass-through so the company can obtain tax concessions. “They acquire outside financing, deposit it in their bank then buy their own bonds in whatever amount they need for the project,” said IDA Chairman John Henry. “This is a simple conduit that we do for most projects. We have no financial obligation. We do not provide any funds or incur any financial liability under these bonds.”
The value of the total project, which is expected to create 1,000 jobs, is $300 million. Phase one is $90 million. Of that, $10 million is for a land lease, $40 million is for equipment and $40 million is for buildings.
The state is contributing a $3 million grant for site preparation and building improvements and the IDA is chipping in $1.25 million for site development.
“The industrial development bonds that the IDA approved are part of the process of competing the terms of the MOU,” said Dennis Webb, Chairman of the IDA. “It is another positive step forward, and I am confident that we will continue with this momentum and we will soon see groundbreaking and construction.”
About Medient
Medient Studios Inc. is a publicly listed company OTCQB:MDNT, www.medient.com.
It is a global film production and distribution company. Fourteen movies, two music acts and several hundred live performance shows have been produced under the Medient banner.
The company is significantly scaling up its operations, including its planned entry into the electronic games sector.