Hasbro selling eOne television and movie business to Lionsgate in $500M deal

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN
AP Business Writer

Hasbro is selling its eOne television and movie business to Lionsgate in an approximately $500 million deal, after having paid $4 billion for the company four years ago.

Hasbro said Thursday that the agreement with Lionsgate includes $375 million in cash and the assumption of production financing loans.

The acquisition will give Lionsgate access to eOne’s library of almost 6,500 titles, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Yellowjackets” and “The Woman King.” Lionsgate will also receive film development rights to Hasbro’s Monopoly, based on the popular board game.

The deal allows the Santa Monica, California-based company to continue to scale its operations in the U.K. and Canada, where it has recently launched production partnerships with BBC Studios, Channel Four, the CBC, Rogers’ CityTV and Bell Media.

Hasbro purchased Entertainment One Ltd. in 2019 in an all-cash deal valued at about $4 billion. At the time, Hasbro was interested in eOne’s preschool brands, which included Peppa Pig and PJ Masks. Hasbro will still have access to Peppa Pig and PJ Masks, as it will keep ownership of the family brands division.

While Hasbro had high hopes for the deal, in November it announced that it was looking to sell the part of eOne’s television and film business not directly supporting its branded entertainment strategy.

The boards of Hasbro and Lionsgate have approved the transaction, which is targeted to close by the end of the year.

Hasbro said it will use proceeds from the deal to retire a minimum of $400 million of floating rate debt by year’s end.

The toy company also reported its financial results for the second quarter on Thursday. Hasbro lost $235 million, or $1.69 per share, in the period, reversing a year-earlier profit.

Earnings, adjusted for asset impairment costs and amortization costs, came to 49 cents per share. That was below the 58 cents per share analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected.

Revenue for the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company fell 10% to $1.21 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimate of $1.11 billion.

A year ago, Hasbro reported an adjusted profit of $1.15 per share on revenue of $1.34 billion.

Shares of Hasbro rose slightly in midday trading.