Greenlight Communications has announced that it will focus on its core competencies in health communications and related technology and sell off its entertainment assets. Gary Howsam has resigned the office of chief executive, while retaining his seat on the board of directors. Donald Gray, formerly president and coo, assumes the post of chief executive.

In what Gray calls a ‘friendly transaction,’ Howsam, who now controls a new independent company called Greenlight Film & Television, or GFT Entertainment, reached an agreement with Greenlight for the purchase of certain entertainment assets and liabilities for $308,000.

‘We have decided to focus on our core competencies of health care communications and technology,’ says Gray. ‘We had not been able to raise enough capital to stay in the entertainment business and keep the shareholders happy.’

Midland Walwyn Capital financial advisor Ian Somerville views the revised business plan as a result of ‘two separate visions for the company. Howsam leaned toward entertainment and Gray toward technology and communications. The company grew in two different directions ­ the entertainment side grew so quickly and built some very salable assets along the way.’

The company has put its leading entertainment asset, Everest Entertainment, on the sales block. The feature film company is involved in domestic distribution, foreign sales and coproduction/ packaging, as well as music production services and studios located at its Puck’s Farm family attraction north of Toronto.

While no one is willing to reveal how much Everest may sell for, Somerville calls it ‘a top-drawer asset,’ particularly because Everest has multiyear distribution deals with Orion Pictures, Live Entertainment and Hallmark Entertainment.

Jeffrey Olin, vp corporate finance for Canacord Capital, agrees. ‘It’s quite an attractive asset ­ it has a good track record. I think there would be a number of buyers (although I wouldn’t want to speculate as to who).’

gft, under the direction of Howsam, acquired in the transaction shares of Greenlight Entertainment, the Screen Magic Bridge Fund, 189 Church St. Inc., where the cft offices are now located, and the 30% minority share in Kingsborough Greenlight Pictures.

‘We are basically in the executive production business, focusing on packaging, financing and production,’ says Howsam. ‘Right now we are making sure we have an orderly transfer of things. We’re not looking right now to take on any new deals, we’re making sure we’re on top of the ones we have.’

Howsam adds, however, that he is interested in new projects for the Bridge Fund, which is geared toward funding preproduction costs on high-quality film and television projects.

Other assets picked up by gft include various projects in progress: currently in post-production the $5-million Hellcab is a theatrical feature produced by Suzanne de Walt, Paul Dillon and Jamie Gordon and starring John Cusack and Gillian Anderson; gft is a 20% partner in Jack Doyle, a Canada-u.k. feature coproduction currently in preproduction; Owd Bob, a family story with a $5-million budget is being produced by the 30%-owned Kingsborough, as is Nico the Unicorn, a $7-million film currently shooting in Montreal. gft and Lone Eagle Enterprises also own the tv program Get a Grip on Golf.

Gray says proceeds from the sales of entertainment properties will be directed toward Greenlight’s multimedia, technology and ‘Healthlink’ healthcare communications. Greenlight continues to hold its interest in Vancouver-based Motion Works Group, a publicly traded multimedia company. ‘We spent most of the last year turning around Motion Works,’ says Gray. ‘We signed significant contracts and hope to sign more multimedia contracts to do multimedia work. Our goal is to coproduce at a profit with major entertainment groups that will look after distribution.’