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The toy maker acquires the studio and its children's properties "Peppa Pig" and "PJ Masks", as well as a global film and television production and distribution company.
Toy maker Hasbro has acquired the Canadian Entertainment One studio as part of a $ 4 billion all-cash deal.
The deal, unveiled Thursday after the market closes, was awarded to Hasbro eOne Peppa Pig and PJ Masks children's series and other prominent properties like Nickelodeon Ricky Zoom. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders will receive $ 6.80 in cash for each common share, which represents a premium of 31% over its average price over 30 days.
Hasbro will use debt financing and an equity offering of $ 1 billion to $ 1.25 billion to finance the acquisition of eOne, which trades on the London Stock Exchange.
"The eOne acquisition adds world-renowned, family-owned, history-inspired family brands, which generate strong operating revenues in Hasbro's portfolio and provide a portfolio of new brands." based on family-based storytelling, which will now include Hasbro's intellectual property, "said Brian Goldner, president of Hasbro. and CEO in a statement.
eOne, which has been the subject of periodic speculation on takeover bids in recent years, has recently focused its activity Designated Survivor producer Mark Gordon and eOne Television; the family unit, animated by his Peppa Pig and PJ Masks franchises; international sales and production operation Sierra / Affinity; partnership in Amblin Partners with Steven Spielberg, Media Participant and Reliance Entertainment; and Brad Weston's Makeready film and television producer.
In 2016, the Canadian company had rejected an earlier public purchase offer of $ 1.3 billion from UK TV group UK ITV. The abandoned acquisition of eOne by ITV, in line with the proposed agreement with Hasbro, aimed at strengthening the international presence of the suitor and establishing a major base in the distribution and production of movies.
eOne has a substantial television library as well as theatrical distribution in Canada, the United Kingdom, Benelux and Australia, even though the independent distributor has made fewer and larger releases in recent years.
Gordon and eOne have recently renewed their relationship, with Hollywood's seasoned producer moving to production after being president and content manager for film, television and digital, leading all creative units. Hasbro expects subcontracting and cost synergies of approximately $ 130 million by 2022, in part by integrating eOne toys activity internally and into the future. by moving Hasbro's "underutilized" content to be developed by its Canadian-based partner.
In a call to analysts, Goldner was asked about Hasbro's existing deal with Paramount Pictures for the production and distribution of content based on Hasbro's original brands and concepts. The executive said the partnership would continue and that eOne would be used to develop non-essential intellectual property that is not part of the long-term agreement that Paramount and Hasbro jointly fund projects and that the Hollywood studio is distributing content around the world.
Paramount and Hasbro also collaborate on television projects. "Our partnership with Paramount is fantastic, what we see is an expansion of our capabilities with Paramount, but also to develop intellectual property that is not part of our priority productions," said Goldner.
eOne & # 39; s Peppa Pig and PJ Masks The properties already have licensing partners and merchandise, and Goldner said that by 2021, it would be clear for Hasbro to bring these preschool brands in house and fully exploit them in the market.
Hasbro had said in a statement that "the highest executives of eOne had agreed to join the Hasbro team" without specifying who they could be. "With our management team, I look forward to working with Hasbro on our joint growth and success for many years," said eOne CEO, Darren Throop, who will continue to lead the independent studio, in his own declaration.
Hasbro, known for his movie toy properties like Transformers and G.I. Joe, praised the acquisition for accelerating its company's "brand strategy" by adding eOne's family brands and expertise in film and television.
"The Hasbro Integrated Product Portfolio for Toys, Games and Consumer Products will fuel the tremendous success of eOne," added Throop.
The agreement proposed by Hasbro for eOne has been approved unanimously by the respective boards of directors of both companies. Subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, Hasbro expects its acquisition to be completed by the end of 2019.
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