LONDON: Having raised 70 million dollars to fund a series of films, UTV Motion Pictures on Monday joined the Alternate Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.

UTV Motion Pictures, the holding company of UTV Motion Pictures (Mauritius), proposes to use the cash to improve its profile in the Hollywood studio system and capitalise on the growth of the Indian film market.

UTV Motion Pictures Non-Executive Chairman Ronnie Screwvala said: "We are delighted with the response from investors who recognise that UTV's early adoption of the Hollywood studio model will enable the company to establish a leading position in the Indian movie industry."

A spokesperson of UTV said the issue proceeds would be used to fund the 30.2 million dollar acquisition of a movie portfolio by UTV Mauritius from UTV Software Communications Ltd.

The Indian movie market was estimated to be worth 2.1 billion dollars last year, up 24 per cent over the previous year.