Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment is looking for a buyer or investment partner, two years after similar talks fell through with London-based Centricus.
The company, which is profitable, has enlisted JP Morgan to handle inquiries, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Founded in November 1985 by Howard and fellow director Brian Grazer, Imagine is one of the largest independent production houses in Hollywood, best known for films such as 'A Beautiful Mind', 'Apollo 13', 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Frost/Nixon' (pictured).
The process is in the early stages, trade press Variety and The Wrap reported, having been sparked by incoming calls made to Howard and Grazer.
Imagine's founders are reported to be willing to listen to offers for an outright sale of the business or could sell a partial stake or form a strategic alliance with a deep-pocketed partner to fund expansion, which in recent years has included adding more of a focus on documentaries, branded content.
They were in talks to sell a majority stake to Centricus Asset Management for a valuation of between $600 million and $800 million in 2022 before falling through.
Merchant bank Raine Capital, which has been employed by Imagine to raise project investment over the years, owns a stake in the company after investing $100 million in 2016.