SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email

The investors behind Miramax, the studio that owns Oscar winners “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction,” are exploring a sale, people with knowledge of the matter said, as demand for content has grown with the rise of online viewing.

Miramax, which owns more than 700 films, could fetch as much as $1 billion, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. The company, controlled by billionaire Thomas Barrack Jr.’s Colony Capital and Qatar Holding, is interviewing banks, the people said.

The film industry is experiencing a resurgence, with 2015 expected to be a record year at the U.S. box office. Investment in the sector, which ebbed during the financial crisis and after, is returning, and the proliferation of digital services such as Amazon.com Inc. and Netflix Inc. has led to increased demand for content.

Miramax’s owners may be betting that the company’s high-quality film library, which includes “No Country for Old Men” and “Good Will Hunting,” will be attractive to potential buyers. The process is being run by the board of Miramax, led by Chairman Barrack, the founder and chairman of Colony Capital, one of the people said.

Investor Group

Kat Kleiner, a spokeswoman for Miramax, and Kristin Celauro, a spokeswoman for Colony Capital, declined to comment. A representative for Qatar Holding, a unit of the Gulf State’s sovereign wealth fund, didn’t respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

In 2010, a group including Qatar Holding, Colony Capital and Ron Tutor purchased Miramax for $660 million from Walt Disney Co. Tutor later sold his stake to Qatar Holding.

Miramax has already had discussions with at least one potential buyer, one of the people said.

The studio was founded in 1979 by brothers Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein. The Weinstein brothers, who left in 2005 when the company was owned by Disney, reconnected with Miramax in 2013 to produce and distribute films and TV shows based on the studio’s library content. They now run The Weinstein Co., a New York-based film studio.

Disney bought Miramax from the Weinsteins in 1993.

Miramax, named after the Weinsteins’ parents Miriam and Max, has been reviving its production and distribution business the past couple years to increase the value of its library.

The company struck a deal with the Weinstein Co. to make new films, TV shows and stage productions derived from the library. Miramax is also involved in “Mr. Holmes,” a film with Oscar nominee Ian McKellen that opened in theaters Friday.

In 2011, Miramax paid a $142 million dividend to shareholders as part of a larger refinancing.

(Updates with details of process in fourth paragraph.)