IMAQ

Definitive Agreement

IMAQU
First $10.02
Recent $11.01
10%

International Media Acquisition Corp.

Raised
$200M
CIK
1846235
SPAC Ticker
IMAQU
Focus
Media, Entertainment, Technology, Music, Gaming
External link: SEC Filings

SPAC Team

Leadership

Shibasish Sarkar has served as our Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Mr. Sarkar has extensive experience of over 27 years in the media industry. Mr. Sarkar has been handling multiple verticals across films, television, animation, gaming content and operations of digital and new media platforms. Since January 2019, Mr. Sarkar has been the Group CEO at Reliance Entertainment and was Group COO from September 2015 to December 2018. Reliance Entertainment is a part of the Reliance ADA Group, a leading private sector business serving over 250 million customers across financial services, infrastructure, power, telecommunications, media and entertainment, and healthcare sectors. Mr. Sarkar is also a member of the senior leadership team of Reliance ADA Group and serves as a director on the board of various Reliance ADA Group companies. Mr. Sarkar has hands-on experience and domain expertise within geographic markets of India, UK, and China, having helmed the distribution and production of hundreds of films having collaborated with the leading filmmakers & actors of Indian film industry. Mr. Sarkar has been a pioneer in producing digital content with clients across major OTT and TV Video-On-Demand platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and SonyLIV. Mr. Sarkar has set up a marquee roster of showrunners and directors, delivering shows worth $22 million in the preceding 24 months through multiple shows contracted with streaming platforms with an aggregate value in the pipeline of approximately $80 million. Mr. Sarkar’s significant experience in the media and entertainment industry makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.

Sanjay Wadhwa has served as a member on our Board of Directors since our inception. Since 1993, Mr. Wadhwa has been the Managing Partner of AP International Group, established in 1958, now one of the oldest film studios in southern India. AP International Group has been involved in film financing, acquisition, distribution, and handling of over 1000 films since its inception. Mr. Wadhwa, with over 35 years of experience in the field of Indian media and entertainment industry, has expertise in film financing, international distribution and syndication, digital media services platform and content production. Mr. Wadhwa is a well-known media personality in Southern India and within the Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam speaking markets in Middle East, North America and South-East Asia, with notable contribution to trade and film exporting organizations. Mr. Wadhwa has been a member of the Entrepreneurs Organization, Chennai since 2000 and was the second Indian to be on the global board of Entrepreneurs Organization, Alexandria, Virginia, USA (2014 to 2017). Mr. Wadhwa also serves as a director on the board of Phonographic Digital Limited and was also the former director in Recorded Music Performance Ltd. We believe that Mr. Wadhwa’s extensive experience in the Indian media and entertainment industry makes him qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.

Vishwas Joshi has served as our Chief Financial Officer since our inception. Mr. Joshi is a certified cost accountant having over 28 years of experience in the fields of media and entertainment, consumer goods and manufacturing services. Until recently, Mr. Joshi was associated with Walt Disney Company India in the capacity of executive director and head of studio finance from June 2007 to September 2020. Mr. Joshi has also worked with Sahara One Media and Entertainment, Capital Foods, Tata Oil Mills, CEAT and Batliboi accounting firm. Mr. Joshi’s expertise is spread across finance, accounts (India and US standards), treasury, audits, business planning and strategy and general management. Mr. Joshi has expertise in M&A transactions and post-merger integrations. Mr. Joshi was employed with UTV during the time Disney acquired 100% stake in UTV, and he was extensively involved in the transaction. After the aforesaid acquisition, Mr. Joshi continued as head of studio finance for UTV Studio and Walt Disney Studio India. Subsequently, he was also involved in the transaction relating to Disney acquiring Fox Star Studio and continued as head of studio finance for UTV/ Disney/Fox.

David M. Taghioff will become a member our Board of Directors at the closing of this offering. Mr. Taghioff has lead Library Pictures International, LLC, a global local-language content financier, since May 2019. Library was launched in May 2019 to support industry-leading filmmakers across the globe by investing in local production slates. From August 2011 to April 2020, Mr. Taghioff served at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and finally in the capacity of Co-Head of Global Client Strategy where he worked across the agency identifying new business opportunities for the agency’s clients, with an emphasis on the international marketplace. He advised corporate clients on their international initiatives, and he also worked with film and television clients on cross-border opportunities, brokering multiple film slate deals as well as packaging episodic content and film deals for Netflix and Amazon in India. From April 2010 to August 2011, he was Chief Operating Officer of Octagon, Inc.’s entertainment division. Prior to Octagon, from August 2006 to January 2010, Mr. Taghioff served as the Co-Head of William Morris Agency’s London office. Mr. Taghioff graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning (Economics) from the University of Southern California. He received his Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University School of Law and is a member of the California State Bar. We believe that Mr. Taghioff’s talent management and film financing experience make him well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.

Deepak Nayar will become a member our Board of Directors at the closing of this offering. Based in Los Angeles, Mr. Nayar has worked as a film and television producer since 1996 and is known for his association with films like Lost Highway, Buena Vista Social Club, Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, Vampire Academy, Dredd, Partition 1947, and The Mistress of Spices. Mr. Nayar has won awards from the Imagen Foundation and the Online Film and Television Association. He has also been nominated for Grammy Awards, BAFTA Award and European Film Awards. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Hindu College, University of Delhi. We believe that Mr. Nayar’s extensive experience as a film and television producer makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.

Greg Silverman will become a member our Board of Directors at the closing of this offering. Mr. Silverman has been the CEO and Founder of Stampede Ventures, LLC since April 2018. Stampede Ventures is a premiere entertainment company sitting at the intersection of Hollywood and Silicon Valley and wholly focused on creating the next generation of blockbuster franchises across four divisions: Film, TV, Alternative, and International. Prior to founding Stampede, from 1997 to March 2017, Mr. Silverman served at Warner Bros. Pictures and finally in the capacity of President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production where he had full oversight of Warner Bros. Pictures’ development activities, global production and budget and worked on new opportunities to diversify and build upon the success of the company. While at Warner Bros., he was responsible for such box office hits as The Hangover, The Dark Knight, Gravity, Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Suicide Squad, The Lego Movie, Sully, The Accountant, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Wonder Woman, Crazy Rich Asians, A Star Is Born, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. Mr. Silverman serves on the Executive Committee of The Oakwood School and is a board member of both the Art Center College of Design and the Time Warner Foundation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Stanford University. We believe that Mr. Silverman’s media and entertainment experience makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.

Paul Pelosi Jr. will become a member our Board of Directors at the closing of this offering. Mr. Pelosi is an experienced advisor to emerging growth and Fortune 500 companies in the areas of finance, infrastructure, sustainability and public policy. From March 2020 to the present, Mr. Pelosi has provided business development management services to ST Biosciences. From January 2021 to the present, he has also provided sales services to St. Georges Eco-Mining. From January 2002 to the present, Mr. Pelosi has advised clients on real estate transactions as a registered broker. He has been a member of the California State Bar since 1996. From March 2006 to October 2008, Mr. Pelosi served as Vice President of Corporate Strategy at InfoUsa, where he identified and executed mergers, acquisitions, and business partnerships. Mr. Pelosi’s previous experience includes working in a variety of positions in sales, corporate finance, loan origination, and institutional sales at Bank of America Securities from 1996 to 2001, JP Morgan Chase from 2001 to 2003, Bank of America Countrywide from 2003 to 2008, and at WR Hambrecht from 2009 to 2012. Mr. Pelosi is a graduate of Georgetown University with a BA in History (Cum Laude) and graduate of the Georgetown Law Center with a joint JD/MBA with an emphasis in International Business. We believe that Mr. Pelosi’s financial and business development experience makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.

Suresh Ramamurthi will become a member our Board of Directors at the closing of this offering. Mr. Ramamurthi has been Chairman of CBW Bank since 2013 and has also served as the bank’s CTO. Mr. Ramamurthi leads CBW Bank’s initiatives to support and foster innovation including working with financial services start-ups. In 2009, the current ownership acquired the struggling Citizens Bank in Weir, Kansas and transformed the 123-year-old single-branch institution through the use of disruptive financial technology. Mr. Ramamurthi was named American Banker’s Innovator of the Year for 2015. Mr. Ramamurthi has served on the Board of Trustees for the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) since July 2013, having served as Chairman of the investment committee and is currently serving as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. KPERS has more than $23 billion AUM and serves more than 281,000 retirees. Previously, Mr. Ramamurthi served as a Board Member of Kansas Film Commission. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Anna University, Guindy, India, a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Rutgers-NJIT Joint Program and an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago. We believe that Mr. Ramamurthi’s investment and financial experience makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.