The US studio now owns a 6500-hour content library.
After several months of speculations and searching for a potential buyer, Hasbro has announced it has sold its production and distribution company, Entertainment One (eOne) to Lionsgate.
The deal, worth US$ 500 million, is expected to close by the end of 2023.
Following the deal, Lionsgate now owns 6,500-hour library of content, including shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds and Designated Survivor, in addition to the TV and film divisions behind TV productions such as Yellowjackets, Naked & Afraid and The Rookie.
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 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.”
