Lionsgate agreed to acquire the eOne content platform from Hasbro for $500 million including $375 million in cash and the assumption of debt.
eOne produces scripted and unscripted television shows and movies. Current programs on the air include ABC’s The Rookie and the spinoff Rookie: Feds, Showtime’s Yellowjackets and Discovery’s unscripted Naked & Afraid.
It has a 6,500 unit library of TV episodes and films. TV titles include Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds and Designated Survivor.
“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 U.K.,” Feltheimer said. "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.”
Lionsgate’s studio business is in the process of being spun off from Starz.
