Solutions
businesswire | August 09, 2023
Hasbro, Inc. a leading toy and game company, today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its eOne film and TV business to Lionsgate for approximately $500 million, consisting of $375 million in cash, subject to certain purchase price adjustments, and the assumption by Lionsgate of production financing loans. The transaction has been approved by both companies’ Boards of Directors and remains subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals. Hasbro will use the proceeds to retire a minimum of $400 million of floating rate debt by the end of the year, and for other general corporate purposes. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2023.
The sale will include a talented team of employees, a content library of nearly 6,500 titles, active productions for non-Hasbro owned IP like The Rookie, Yellowjackets and Naked and Afraid franchises, and the eOne unscripted business, which will include rights for certain Hasbro-based shows like Play-Doh Squished. The eOne film and TV business being sold also includes Hasbro’s interest in the Canadian film & TV operations of Entertainment One Canada Limited, and the transaction has also been approved by Entertainment One Canada Limited’s Board of Directors.
Today’s announcement is the culmination of a rigorous sale process in connection with Hasbro’s recent strategic review and represents a significant milestone in Hasbro’s commitment to executing its Blueprint 2.0 strategy, which at its core is about significantly increasing investment in Hasbro’s priority brands. In addition to Hasbro’s animation efforts that include Peppa Pig, Transformers: EarthSpark, and My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale, the company will retain a focused team of creative development and business affairs experts to shepherd the 30+ Hasbro-based projects in development, working with the best studios and distribution platforms in Hollywood, including ongoing development of the TRANSFORMERS and GI JOE franchises, PLAY-DOH, D&D, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and Hasbro’s board game portfolio.
“This sale fully aligns with our strategy, and we are pleased to bring the process to a successful close,” said Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks. “Lionsgate’s management team is experienced in entertainment and adept at driving value, and we’re glad to have found such a good home for our eOne film & TV business. We look forward to partnering with them, especially on a movie adaptation of Monopoly.”
Mr. Cocks continued: “Entertainment remains a priority for Hasbro. Hasbro will continue to develop and produce entertainment based on the rich vault of Hasbro-owned brands. We will also bring to life new original ideas designed to fuel all areas of Hasbro’s blueprint including toys, publishing, gaming, licensed consumer products, and location-based entertainment. As part of the sale, we expect to move to an asset-lite model for future live action entertainment, relying on licensing and partnerships with select co-productions.”
J.P. Morgan and Centerview Partners served as lead financial advisors to Hasbro in the transaction. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Mayer Brown International LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP are acting as legal counsel to Hasbro and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP are acting as legal counsel to Entertainment One Canada Limited.
About Hasbro
Hasbro is a leading toy and game company whose mission is to entertain and connect generations of fans through the wonder of storytelling and exhilaration of play. Hasbro delivers engaging brand experiences for global audiences through toys, consumer products, gaming and entertainment, with a portfolio of iconic brands including MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Hasbro Gaming, NERF, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH and PEPPA PIG, as well as premier partner brands.
Hasbro is guided by our Purpose to create joy and community for all people around the world, one game, one toy, one story at a time. For more than a decade, Hasbro has been consistently recognized for its corporate citizenship, including being named one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media, one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute and one of the 50 Most Community-Minded Companies in the U.S. by the Civic 50.
AboutLionsgate
The first major new studio in decades, Lionsgate is a global content leader whose films, television series, digital products and linear and over-the-top platforms reach next generation audiences around the world. The Company’s content initiatives are backed by a nearly 17,000-title film and television library and delivered through a global sales and distribution infrastructure. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring and ground-breaking content created with special emphasis on the evolving patterns and diverse composition of the Company’s worldwide consumer base.
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Industry Market
PRnewswire | August 08, 2023
Lionsgate and Hasbro today announced that they have signed an agreement under which Lionsgate will acquire the independent content platform eOne in a transaction valued at approximately $500 million, comprised of cash of $375 million subject to additional purchase price adjustments, and the assumption of production financing loans. The agreement is subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino approval and customary closing conditions.
eOne is a world-class producer of scripted and unscripted television and motion pictures with global distribution and a 6,500-title film and television library. Under the agreement, Lionsgate will acquire a library that includes titles such as 1917, Atomic Blonde, Green Book, Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Renegade and Designated Survivor. eOne's scripted television business is powered by The Rookie TV franchise, now in its sixth season on ABC, the hit spinoff The Rookie: Feds, and production of Showtime's critically-acclaimed horror thriller Yellowjackets. eOne's unscripted business is led by the long-running hit reality series Naked & Afraid, now in its 11th season on Discovery.
eOne's film division has a track record of critically-acclaimed films including last year's action adventure The Woman King, which debuted to widespread critical acclaim, the Academy Award-nominated The United States v. Billie Holiday, and 1917, eOne's highest-grossing UK release ever. As part of the agreement, Lionsgate also will acquire film development rights to Hasbro's Monopoly, based on the wildly popular board game. The eOne acquisition will allow Lionsgate to continue to scale its operations in the UK and Canada, where it has recently launched production partnerships with BBC Studios (Ghosts), Channel Four (Motherland), the CBC (Son of A Critch), Rogers' CityTV (Wong & Winchester) and Bell Media.
"The acquisition of eOne checks off all the boxes in areas that play to our core strengths," said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. "It will be immediately and highly accretive, adds a world-class library with thousands of properties, strengthens our scripted and unscripted television business and continues to expand our presence in Canada and the UK. The deal is the culmination of our long-standing relationship with the immensely talented team at eOne, and it continues to build our position as one of the world's leading independent content platforms with a stockpile of great intellectual properties and a unique, non-replicable portfolio of assets."
The deal was negotiated by COO Brian Goldsmith, EVP & General Counsel Bruce Tobey, EVP Corporate Development Miles Delaney and VP Corporate Development Suzy Felfeli for Lionsgate. Jefferies & Co., Ernst & Young and Sheppard Mullin advised Lionsgate on the transaction.
About Lionsgate
Lionsgate encompasses world-class motion picture and television studio operations aligned with the STARZ premium global subscription platform to bring a unique and varied portfolio of entertainment to consumers around the world. The Company's film, television, subscription and location-based entertainment businesses are backed by a 18,000-title library and a valuable collection of iconic film and television franchises. A digital age company driven by its entrepreneurial culture and commitment to innovation, the Lionsgate brand is synonymous with bold, original, relatable entertainment for audiences worldwide.
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Technologies
prnewswire | July 24, 2023
Inspired Entertainment, Inc. a leading B2B provider of gaming content, systems and solutions, announced today that it has signed a long-term contract extension as the provider of Virtual Sports to leading online gambling operator and Inspired's long-time partner bet365.
Under the agreement, Inspired will continue to provide bet365 with their latest products including licensed games giving bet365 the advantage of leading content for their Virtual Sports offerings.
"We are extremely pleased to continue our long-term partnership with bet365, the world B2C leader in Virtual Sports, offering up more than 30 channels of Inspired content around the world. They were the first operator to offer our Multi-Stream Matchday and Basketball products," said Brooks Pierce, President and Chief Executive Officer of Inspired. "We're thrilled for them to be one of the first operators to take our latest licensed products to grow their popular Inspired Virtual Sports portfolio."
Inspired has the largest and most diverse content portfolio currently available, including the most popular sport for every market. Over the last five years, Inspired's Virtual Sports have seen big growth in North America with the introduction of basketball, football, the first-ever women's soccer game, and coming soon, baseball.
ABOUT INSPIRED ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
Inspiredoffers an expanding portfolio of content, technology, hardware and services for regulated gaming, betting, lottery, social and leisure operators across land-based and mobile channels around the world. Inspired's gaming, Virtual Sports, interactive and leisure products appeal to a wide variety of players, creating new opportunities for operators to grow their revenue. Inspired operates in approximately 35 jurisdictions worldwide, supplying gaming systems with associated terminals and content for approximately 50,000 gaming machines located in betting shops, pubs, gaming halls and other route operations; virtual sports products through more than 32,000 retail venues and various online websites; digital games for 170+ websites; and a variety of amusement entertainment solutions with a total installed base of more than 16,000 terminals.
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