Luc Besson to float film company

PARIS (Reuters) - French film director Luc Besson aims to float his production company, EuropaCorp, on the Paris stock exchange, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

EuropaCorp has made or helped produce 45 films since 1999, including "Transporter 2" and more recently the animated children's movie "Arthur et les Minimoys".

Besson - best known for directing films including "Le Grand Bleu" and "The Fifth Element" - controls EuropaCorp via his holding company Front Line, according to a document filed with France's AMF stock markets authority.

The company currently has eight movies that are either in post production or being shot, including "Taken", being directed by Pierre Morel and starring Liam Neeson, the document said.

Besson is also planning sequels to his animated film "Arthur" and a third "Transporter" movie starring Jason Statham, among other projects, it said.

In its last financial year, ended March 31, EuropaCorp made a profit of 8 million euros on sales of 159 million euros. It had net debt of around 43 million euros, partly guaranteed by rights to some of its films.

The document said Besson might continue to own more than 50 percent of EuropaCorp after a listing but, in line with AMF rules, it gave no details on how much money the company might be seeking to raise. That information will be contained in an offer prospectus to be filed at a later date.