Lionsgate completes $375m eOne acquisition

Lionsgate has completed its acquisition of production-distribution group Entertainment One (eOne) for $375m, also assuming the company’s production financing loans.

The deal with former owner, toy giant Hasbro, struck in e4August, sees US studio Lionsgate take control of a 6,500-hour content library, including shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds and Designated Survivor, as well as the TV and film divisions that have been behind series like Yellowjackets, Naked & Afraid and The Rookie.

These firms include unscripted television production companies Renegade and Daisybeck, as well as Hasbro’s interest in the Canadian film & TV operations of Entertainment One Canada Limited.

On the film side, eOne is behind features including The Woman King, The United States v Billie Holiday and 1917, with Lionsgate also picking up film development rights to Monopoly, based on the Hasbro board game, as part of the deal.

The final purchase figure is far below the $4bn that Hasbro paid for eOne in 2019, with the company being put on sale again in 2022, just three years after its acquisition.

In October, Hasbro revealed plunging revenues at eOne as a result of the US writers and actors strikes, leading to two rounds of lay-offs at the Peppa Pig firm last year, with the most recent taking place less than a month ago.

Hasbro said it expects to retire approximately $400m of floating rate debt following eOne’s acquisition by Lionsgate.

The completion of the long-awaited acquisition comes as Lionsgate prepares to separate its studio business from US streamer and cablenet Starz.

The company made an SEC filing in July in which it revealed that Lionsgate’s film and TV studio would become a separate company, while its media networks assets, including Outlander, Gaslit and Power Book unit Starz, would remain as part of the existing firm. The two will become separate publicly traded companies.