Toronto- and Montreal-based Sphere Media has completed its acquisition of U.K.-based distributor Abacus Media Rights (AMR), following the conclusion of the sale from AMR’s previous parent, Toronto-headquartered Amcomri Entertainment.

The deal, which was first announced in June of this year, saw Sphere partnering on the transaction with its shareholder Bell Media.

As per that previous announcement, Abacus’ distribution business has now been incorporated into Sphere and rebranded as Sphere Abacus, which will work with its new parent’s production companies as well as investing in, pre-selling and selling both scripted and unscripted productions from around the world.

Previous AMR managing director Jonathan Ford (pictured left) will now perform the same function at Sphere Abacus, reporting to Sphere Media CEO Bruno Dubé (right). Ford’s sales and acquisitions teams will continue to be based in the U.K.

“Sphere Media is acknowledged as a producer of high-quality productions both in Canada and internationally. This significant development for our company means that our global capabilities have extended further and deeper,” said Dubé in a statement. “Together with Sphere Abacus we have become an exceptionally effective force in the worldwide content market.”

Sphere Media’s current unscripted portfolio includes a number of titles for the French Canadian market, as well as such English-language productions as the paranormal series Haunted Hospitals, Paranormal Revenge and the soon-to-premiere Repossessed for History Channel Canada.

This story originally appeared in Realscreen

Images courtesy of Sphere Abacus