Lionsgate CEO Expects to Announce Starz Spinoff Deal by End of Summer

Lionsgate CEO John Feltmeimer said on Thursday that the company plans to announce its plans for Starz by the end of the summer and close the deal next spring as the process of monetizing premium channels and broadcasters progresses.

He also hinted that there could be more mergers and acquisitions for both Lionsgate and Starz if the two companies split.

“We aim to announce our plan by the end of summer and expect the transaction to be completed in our fourth fiscal quarter,” the CEO said at a press conference today to discuss the company’s latest earnings. said. Lionsgate’s fiscal year ends in March.

Fellheimer said the company is in talks with bankers and “several potential strategic partners.”

Canal+, a division of French conglomerate Vivendi, was a mixed bag as a potential plaintiff when Roku management and Apollo Global announced a joint acquisition of a minority stake. DirecTV is also interested.

Lionsgate bought Starz for $4.4 billion in 2016. Last fall, it announced under Jeff Hirsch that it was exploring strategic options for the wired network and streamer, which has grown rapidly but hasn’t been able to rein in its parent. the value of the asset can produce value.

The company surpassed the analyst consensus in the last quarter, reaching a total of 35.8 million subscribers. The 12.8 million, mostly from the StarzPlay International consortium, nearly doubled to Starz, up 47% year-over-year.

“While streaming is not an end in itself, it is a very effective way to deliver content to our customers around the world,” Feltheimer said.

During a question-and-answer session to clarify their plans, Stars confirmed that the plan is to separate Starz from Lionsgate, and to keep it engaged and to exclude unforeseen events.

“The main incentive to leave is that we don’t feel that the street gives us the value of the sum of the parts. We think they can focus on their core business with separate companies, and I think companies will see some opportunities, some strategic opportunities that they might not see until they come together.

“But to be honest, anything can happen and that’s why we’re not going to give you any more details right now,” he said.

Shares of Lionsgate have lost ground in a volatile market that has recently fallen slightly in flow. It fell 3.7% in today’s session, but rose 4% at the end of the session. The quarterly issue and call came after the market closed. At around $11 the stock is still well above its 52-week high of $21.

“An environment like this makes everything difficult in practice,” Felheimer said. “It’s hard to see how our stock has hit when we have a year filled with such tremendous value creation.” He stressed that Starz isn’t going after larger streaming competitors, but instead remains a niche, ad service that should be “layered.”

“I don’t think the street recognizes that. “I hope potential partners do that,” he said.