Lions Gate Entertainment has reached an agreement to separate its studios business and merge it with Screaming Eagle Acquisition, a special-purpose acquisition company. The deal, valued at approximately $4.6 billion including debt, will establish a new publicly traded company named Lionsgate Studios.
A Platform-Agnostic Content Powerhouse
The newly formed Lionsgate Studios will operate as a platform-agnostic, pure-play content company. It will house a diverse portfolio of successful franchises such as The Hunger Games, John Wick, and The Twilight Saga. In addition to its production-and-distribution business and talent management, the company is poised to thrive in the evolving entertainment landscape.
Ownership Structure
Upon the completion of the merger, Lionsgate will maintain an 87.3% ownership stake in the studios business. Notably, Lionsgate will continue to independently own the Starz platform.
Lionsgate Chief Executive Jon Feltheimer and Vice Chair Michael Burns issued a joint statement, expressing confidence in the future of the standalone content company: “We’ve assembled all the necessary components for a thriving content company with a strong financial growth trajectory.”