posted 05-23-2011 10:32 AM                

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Deluxe continued its acquisition spree Wednesday, acquiring 3D conversion company StereoD. But the venerable lab and post giant may have acquired some headaches along with its new prize.
StereoD's owners include J. Christopher Mallick, thesp Giovanni Ribisi and William Sherak, son of Acad prexy Tom Sherak. Company's credits include "The Last Airbender," "Thor" and "Captain America" for Paramount, "The Green Hornet" for Sony and "Gulliver's Travels" for Fox.

Sherak will continue to run StereoD, reporting to Deluxe CEO/prexy Cyril Drabinsky. StereoD's staff of artists will be merged into Deluxe.

Company has been battling a lawsuit from former William Morris agent David Phillips. Complaint, filed in March 2010, alleges breach of oral contract, promissory fraud and other causes of action against StereoD and its principals. It asks for actual, compensatory and punitive damages as well as imposition of a constructive trust on all StereoD equity. Phillips is also seeking part ownership of StereoD, which he claims could be worth millions.

The complaint against Mallick and Ribisi has been dismissed but the suit continues against Sherak.

In the complaint, Phillips contends he was promised a commission on the deal by which StereoD licensed its 3D conversion technology, as well as an equity interest in the company, but then he was cut out when the deals were finalized.

The complaint also says Phillips in November 2008 approached Ronald Perelman's MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings about investing $20 million in this 3D technology. Deluxe, which just acquired StereoD, is a wholly owned MacAndrews & Forbes subsidiary.

Terms of the StereoD acquisition were not disclosed.

A Deluxe spokesperson said Deluxe was not party to the lawsuit and did not expect to be involved in it.

Deluxe acquired most of Ascent Media's production services in a deal announced in November 2010. That added quite a few post services to its offerings, especially in TV, but it lacked 3D conversion services.

William Sherak said the addition of StereoD to Deluxe's other offerings makes Deluxe "a true one-stop shop for our clients."

Contact David S. Cohen at david.cohen@variety.com

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