Victor Loewy Leaves Alliance Films After Merger

TORONTO – Victor Loewy has left the house at Alliance Films as the Canadian-based indie distributor is taken over by rival Entertainment One.

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And with Loewy as CEO goes the Alliance Films brand, which is coming to an end after a four-decades run.

“Whilst it's been a privilege to be part of Alliance, having founded and been associated with the company for the past 40 years, I have decided not to be part of the new enterprise,” Loewy said Wednesday in a statement.

Entertainment One earlier in the day announced that, as well as completing the $225 million takeover and starting to integrate Alliance Films, former president Charles Layton had also left the company.

Loewy gave no indication of future moves, other than to say he “will open a new chapter in my life.”

His departure from Alliance Films was anticipated as Entertainment One promised investors when it first unveiled the Alliance Films takeover that it needed to secure $20 million in “synergies” over three years from a merger.

The indie distributor on Wednesday repeated promised annual pre-tax “cost synergies” of at least $20 million to drive the company’s earnings per-share.

The consensus was those savings were likely to be found in part from shedding rich contracts at the top at Alliance Films.