Tata Elxsi, US firm A Squared end joint venture

Tata Elxsi, a software solutions provider and design company, has terminated its joint venture with the US-based A Squared (A2) Entertainment. It is learnt that A2, a company that creates, develops and distributes entertainment content across Internet, television and retail outlets, had some differences of opinion with Tata Elxsi. In a statement to the exchanges, Tata Elxsi said that the venture has not progressed as per its business expectations. Also, it was believed that continuing the partnership would involve further investments which could be unviable in the long run, the statement added. Tata Elxsi could not be reached for comments. Elxsi’s venture with A2 in 2011 involved collaborating with Archie comics, Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man and Iron Man, and Arnold Schwarzenegger to create a new superhero called ‘Governator’. As part of this venture, Tata Elxsi was to create animation and some storyboarding for A2. “This venture will combine the best of creative and marketing skills from Hollywood and the animation production experience and scale of visual computing labs of Tata Elxsi,” Tata Elxsi Visual Computing Lab Chief Operating Officer, S. Nagarajan, said at the time of the announcement. The news did not impact Tata Elxsi shares which closed at Rs 228 today at BSE. — Our Bureau