Department M, a production company founded two years ago by Mike Larocca and Michael Schaefer, is in talks to acquire a significant stake in Neon, the Oscar-winning studio behind “Parasite” and “Anora.”
A consortium of private investors is backing Department M in the effort, according to two sources with knowledge of the negotiations. Department M was financed by private investors when it launched in 2024.
Neon previously explored a sale in 2022, but a deal with investor Steven Rales, the businessman behind the production company Indian Paintbrush, failed to materialize.
Neon’s recent credits include Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value”; Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner, “It Was Just An Accident”; Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent”; Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât”; Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice”; and Ugo Bienvenu’s “Arco.” It has also backed the horror film “Longlegs,” a massive box office hit that grossed nearly $130 million when it was released in 2025.
Both “Parasite” and “Anora” captured the Academy Award for best picture, helping to solidify Neon’s status as one of the hottest brands in indie filmmaking. The company was founded in 2017 by Tom Quinn, who previously oversaw Radius and was an executive at Magnolia.
Department M’s slate of films films include “Blood on Snow,” a Jo Nesbø adaptation starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Benedict Cumberbatch that will be directed by Emmy winner Cary Joji Fukunaga, and a remake of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” from writer-director Michelle Garza Cervera. Schaefer was formerly the president of New Regency and Larocca co-founded AGBO with the Joe and Anthony Russo, the filmmaking brothers behind “Avengers: Endgame.”
Department M declined to comment. A spokesperson for Neon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.