Director's cut: MacKenzie's Five V Capital sells Madman anime arm to Sony

Madman Media, the film distribution and production group backed by Adrian MacKenzie's private equity firm Five V Capital, is in a position of "chikara" (that's Japanese for power) after selling one of its divisions in a $35 million deal.

It is understood Madman's sold its anime unit to Aniplex, which is another anime business owned by entertainment giant Sony.

It appears to be a good outcome for Madman - and its owner Five V, which invested and oversees the company alongside former media executives Brett Chenoweth and Charbel Nader.

The shareholders paid $21 million for Madman about four years ago - and now they have sold its anime unit, which is about one-third of the overall Madman business, for $35 million.

No doubt Madman's owners are hoping their next big moment could come on February 24, when the annual Academy Awards are held. The company's traditional film distribution business has five films nominated for an Oscar, including Mirai, Free Solo, Vasarhelyi, Minding the Gap and Capernaum.

It comes as other film distributors are going through a tough time. Global distributor eOne shut its business in Australia, while Village Roadshow's issues are well documented.

The other part of Madman's focus is streaming - which is something of a hedge against the traditional distribution business. Madman is building up two streaming businesses; DocPlay and Garage.