A New York-listed technology group has agreed to pay more than £400m for the British visual effects producer which worked on Gravity and Interstellar, trumping bids from rivals including Goldman Sachs.

Sky News has learnt that Roper Technologies has struck a deal to buy Foundry, which has worked on a string of Hollywood blockbusters.

The deal, which could be announced as soon as Monday, saw Roper outbid Goldman and Atairos, an investment firm backed by Comcast Corporation, the new owner of Sky.

Foundry, which counts Google, Pixar and Sony Pictures Imageworks among its clients, is being sold by the private equity firm Hg Capital.

Hg bought the business in 2015 from Carlyle, another buyout firm.


Set up in 1996, Foundry is based in London, and has offices in Manchester and Austin, Texas.

Foundry provides post-production and software services, and has worked on a string of successful films, including the Harry Potter franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Since 2017, it has been run by Craig Rodgerson, who joined as chief executive from Capita, the outsourcing giant.

Foundry boasts a heavyweight board which is chaired by Karen Slatford, a former Hewlett Packard executive.

Its deputy chair is Alex Mahon, who is also chief executive‎ of Channel 4.

Charterhouse, another private equity firm, also bid for Foundry.