A Contracorriente Films, the film distributor founded by Adolfo Blanco in Barcelona in 2009, has brought Suma Capital into its shareholding with the aim of boosting its growth and positioning the company among the main independent audiovisual content distribution companies in Europe. Suma Capital has acquired a 40% stake in the company, owner of the Cines Verdi in Barcelona and the Conde Duque in Madrid.
"This operation represents an important step for A Contracorriente Films, within our objective of continuing to bring quality films for majorities to the public, wherever they may be," says Adolfo Blanco, CEO of the group. With a turnover of 26 million euros in 2019, the largest independent Spanish distributor saw its sales reduce by 23% in 2020 due to the closure of cinemas by the pandemic, although it managed to maintain a good part of its income thanks to the skyrocketing consumption of films through streaming platforms, which are also clients of the company. A Contracorriente Films' catalog includes more than 1,500 films and series.
In a progressive process of verticalization of its business, in addition to entering exhibition, A Contracorriente has also entered the film production sector, which allows it to secure the distribution rights for films such as La Librería, by Isabel Coixet.
Suma Capital's entry has been carried out both through the purchase of shares from minority partners leaving the company and through a capital increase that injects new resources into the group to finance its growth projects. Adolfo Blanco, his sister, Amalia, and other members of the management team maintain shareholder control.
Coinciding with the pandemic, A Contracorriente and Cines Verdi have launched various initiatives to diversify their sources of income and extend the life of films. Thus, the group has allied with Samsung to launch two television channels that are available on all smart TVs or those with an Internet connection from the Korean consumer electronics brand. In addition, the Verdi cinemas jumped onto the Internet with the launch of Sala Virtual de Cine, a pay-per-film platform that allows extending the exhibition period of films when they are removed from the billboard and to which any cinema in Spain can adhere.
Headquartered in Barcelona, Suma Capital is a private equity firm led by Enrique Tombas, David Arroyo, and Pablo de Muller, which is currently in the investment phase of the SC Growth Fund II. A Contracorriente Films becomes the third portfolio company of this vehicle after investing in the Basque training course platform Implika and the Barcelona-based online video analysis software company Npaw (Nice People at Work).