Montreal: Behaviour Communications and Ice Storm Digital have reached an agreement in principle for Ice Storm’s acquisition of Behaviour’s Digital Studio. The $500,000 cash deal is in due diligence and is slated to close Sept. 30.

Neil Dunn, ceo of parent company Ice Storm Entertainment, says the acquisition, if completed, ties in with the company’s upcoming intense f/x production plans, both tv series and major feature films. Ice Storm is a Montreal-based subsidiary of London, Eng.-based Flashpoint Ltd., a major financier of film and tv production in the u.k.

Dunn says ’99-2000 production negotiations include a new round of The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, tentatively slated to go in the new year, and a second 13-hour, special-effects drama series, which will also be shot in digital. The company also plans to produce feature films.

Dunn was an exec producer, through Talisman Crest/Filmline, on the US$35-million ($51.7-million) hd series The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, shot here last year and this spring. The 22-hour series has been sold to cbc, and Dunn is in advanced negotiations with bbc and a major u.s. network.

‘We’ve had a meeting with about seven [executives] from the bbc’s management group, and they actually brought in the commissioning editors who control the programming,’ says Dunn.

Preliminary details of the transaction with Behaviour are as follows: Ice Storm acquires 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Behaviour Digital Studio. The parties have agreed on a due diligence period not later than Sept. 30. On closing, Behaviour will receive a cash consideration of $500,000, subject to adjustments.

Behaviour says it has invested between $5 million and $10 million in its digital studio, one-third coming from government grants. The money was primarily spent on Discreet Logic products, including Flame and Flint visual-effects and compositing systems.

Less than a year ago, the federal Economic Development department announced a $9-million grant to Behaviour Digital Studios, representing one-third of Behaviour’s proposed three-year, $28-million investment.