James Packer's RatPac to back Warner Bros films with $254 million purse

The company, which Packer created a year ago in partnership with filmmaker Brett Ratner, has closed a deal with Bank of America Merrill Lynch for a credit facility worth $US150 million ($169.54 million).

RatPac says it now has a total capitalisation of up to $US225 million ($254.3 million).

The company, with Dune Entertainment, announced a multi-year agreement with US studio Warner Bros in 2013 to co-finance as many as 75 films.

The Alfonso Cuaron film Gravity was one of the early financial beneficiaries of that agreement.

It went on to gross more than $US700 million ($791.17 million) at the box office from a $100 million ($113 million) budget.

Another film backed by the fund was The Lego Movie, which has grossed almost half a billion dollars off a budget of $US60 million ($67.81 million).

Though Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the sole agent in the new RatPac deal, it represents a syndicate of American banks, including Atlanta's SunTrust Bank, the Beverly Hills headquartered City National Bank and the Japanese-owned Union Bank.

"I am extremely happy with RatPac's progress," Packer said in a brief statement.

"The company is quickly expanding its film and entertainment business in the US, China and Asia.

"This credit facility is critical to RatPac's key partnership with Warner Bros and we will continue to work hard to deepen and strengthen this relationship in the future."

RatPac's partner, Dune Entertainment, is owned by Steve Mnuchin, the founder of OneWest, a California-based regional bank, and the investment company Dune Capital Management.

When the RatPac-Dune-Warner Bros deal was announced in 2013, the studio's Chief Executive, Kevin Tsujihara, said it gave the studio "increased strength and flexibility ... and an even greater ability to manage risk."