eOne nabs Vivendi vid biz in Canada

LONDON -- eOne has had over Vivendi Entertainment's home theatre biz in Canada. The purchase, effective from Jan. 1, might find eOne's share of the market within the retail sector considerably elevated by Vivendi's library giving the distrib privileges to some raft of docu and special interest genre game titles. Underneath the deal, eOne will end up the exclusive distributor in Canada for key home theatre distribution labels, including Navarre, Funimation, Shout!, Factory, Classic Media, Mill Creek and National Geographic. Furthermore, Vivendi product will strengthen the distrib's presence in kids and home entertainment. eOne presently distributes WWE, Image, A&E, New Video and Acorn labels amongst others in Canada. Jim Fotheringham, senior veep of home theatre for eOne Films Canada, stated: "We are constantly striving to become the key independent distributor of shot entertainment in Canada and deals such as this provide us the chance to provide our partners top-level service and promote valuable associations." Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com