Dec. 29, 2023

Lionsgate Wraps Up $375 Million eOne Acquisition

This strategic acquisition, finalised on Wednesday, marks a substantial addition to Lionsgate's extensive library, encompassing 6,500 film and television titles. By: Wee Yan Ling

The acquisition was implemented in August when Lionsgate entered into an agreement with Hasbro to acquire eOne’s TV and film operations for $500 million. This development is in conjunction with the four-year anniversary of Hasbro’s initial intent to acquire eOne in a $3.8 billion deal back in August 2019.

After a period of adjustments, the acquisition is completed with cuts hitting eOne in June which has resulted in a reduction of staff by 20% as part of Hasbro’s plan to divest the asset. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feitheimer has expressed his enthusiasm regarding the merger underscoring the integration planning has affirmed the belief that eOne will be a valuable and highly accretive addition to Lionsgate.

It is salient to note that popular intellectual properties such as Peppa Pig, Transformers and Power Rangers have been excluded from the sale to Lionsgate. Nonetheless, the merger does include film development rights for the iconic game, Monopoly. 

“The eOne acquisition concludes a busy year in which we continued to execute our strategy of strengthening our studio business as we prepare for the separation of Lionsgate and Starz into pure play standalone companies,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said. “As we’ve conducted our integration planning, our analysis has reaffirmed our conviction that eOne will be a valuable and highly accretive addition to our business. We are pleased to welcome eOne’s talented group of employees to our Lionsgate family.”

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