Mumbai, July 13 (PTI): Media company Eros International has acquired a 51 per cent shareholding in Ayngaran International Ltd, thereby marking its foray into Tamil films.

Ayngaran International is a newly-incorporated holding company that is acquiring the business and assets of Ayngaran.

Tamil movies constitute the second largest film segment in the country after Hindi and Ayngaran has a dominant market share in the Tamil film content and distribution industry.

The transaction will give Eros access to Ayngaran's library of over 600 films, while securing rights to approximately 25 new films already in development, a release said here today.

The deal forms part of Eros' strategy to pursue partnerships and acquisitions in the multi-billion but fragmented Indian film industry.

Eros will provide an initial funding to the new venture of USD 33 million through internal and external sources to take over and grow the existing business as well as to produce, acquire and distribute forthcoming Tamil films based on agreed forecasts and targets, it said.

Eros International Chairman and CEO Kishore Lulla said "we are really excited about this deal. Ayngaran is the Eros of Tamil Films. The film business is poised to expand rapidly."

Eros and Ayngaran have previously co-operated on the international distribution of the Tamil film `Sivaji-The Boss' starring Rajnikant, which created history by grossing over USD 25 million worldwide, the highest-ever for any Tamil film.

It also featured in the UK charts in spite of showing across just 13 Cineworld screens.

Ayngaran Chairman K Karuna Moorthy said "aligning with Eros will allow us to accelerate our growth and become a global player in Tamil films by maintaining and building on our competitive advantage."

Of the total 1,090 movies produced in India in 2006, 223 were in Hindi and 162 in Tamil.

Internationally, Tamil films have a huge market in the UK, USA, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Australia and the UAE.