Regent Media gets
financial backing

Regent Media announced a $50 million credit facility with Merrill Lynch that will allow it to increase the number of films it produces annually and to expand its global distribution network. The deal also allows for Regent to finance the acquisition and exploitation of library titles.

"This facility enables us to increase our production slate," said Stephen P. Jarchow, cofounder and chairman of Regent Media. "At the same time, it propels the expansion of our distribution relationships and the development of our niche programming destinations."

Regent Media, whose subsidiary Regent Releasing recently distributed Guys and Ball s, The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green, and, opening this weekend, Poster Boy , is known for the production and distribution of gay and lesbian content both theatrically and on DVD. It produces 30 films annually and possesses a library of over 3,500 titles, including Bill Condon's Academy Award-winning Gods and Monsters , starring Sir Ian McKellen and Brendan Fraser. The corporation also owns Here Networks and Here Interactive Media, an online division of Here Networks, which includes the sites Gaywired.com, GayMonkey.com, LesbiaNation.com, and GaySports.com. (The Advocate)