The deal means the privately owned studio behind the hit "Twilight" movie franchise will now be part of the mini-conglomerate that will release "The Hunger Games" in March.
Lionsgate announced Friday it has closed its leveraged buyout of Summit Entertainment in a deal for $412.5 million in cash and stock and the assumption of Summit’s $500 million debt.
The $912.5 million deal brings together two of Hollywood’s biggest independent studios. The privately owned studio behind the hit Twilight movie franchise will now be part of the mini-conglomerate that will release The Hunger Games movie in March and has such TV series as Mad Men and Boss.
Lionsgate funded the purchase with $55 million of its own existing cash, $45 million of cash from newly issued convertible notes, $50 million worth of Lionsgate common stock and $20 million of cash or stock to be issued by Lionsgate in the next 60 days. The remaining $252.5 million apparently comes from cash that Summit had on hand.
At the closing, Summit also is refinancing its $500 million in debt, secured by Summit’s assets. Lionsgate says that while the debt must be paid off by 2016, it anticipates repaying the loan well before the maturity date thanks to significant cash flow that is expected. That would include money from the release this November of the final Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn: Part 2.
Lionsgate says that it expects this acquisition will actually help lower its debt, which is nearly $600 million.
0 comments:
Post a Comment