Lionsgate has confirmed it will acquire eOne from Hasbro in a transaction valued at approximately $500 million.
Under the agreement, Lionsgate acquires eOne’s 6,500-title film and television library, including features and series like 1917, Atomic Blonde, Green Book, Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Renegade and Designated Survivor, as well as its film division, and scripted and unscripted television business, powered by The Rookie TV franchise, Showtime’s Yellowjackets, and long-running reality series Naked & Afraid. As part of the deal, Lionsgate also acquires film development rights to Hasbro’s Monopoly, based on the iconic board game.
Lionsgate says the eOne acquisition will allow it 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), 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, in a company announcement. “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 transaction is projected to close by the end of the year.
Hasbro acquired eOne in 2019 in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $3.8 billion USD. It will retain access to eOne IP like Peppa Pig and PJ Masks under ownership of the family brands division.
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