Lionsgate, on the heels of a deal with Discovery Communications and John Malone’s Liberty Global that swapped a 6.8% stake in the movie studio for $390 million, has made a strategic investment in independent producer Pilgrim Studios, a deal that will give the movie and television producer a solid foothold in unscripted fare for cable networks.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but published reports put Lionsgate’s investment at around $200 million.
Pilgrim produces 47 unscripted and scripted series across 27 networks, including Ghost Hunters (Syfy); Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s (OWN); Fast N’ Loud (Discovery); Wicked Tuna (National Geographic Channel) and The Ultimate Fighter (FS1). Pilgrim will continue to operate independently and keep its current management team headed by founder and CEO Craig Piligian.
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