Deadline has confirmed that Roku and Apollo Global Management have teamed up to announce a minority stake in Starz.
A situation expert said that the first round of bidding took place a few weeks ago and interested parties have just started accessing Starz data. Others are in the mix, interested parties are said to include DirecTV, and the process has been rather slow.
Lionsgate announced last fall that it is exploring strategic options for the cable network and the publisher that will effectively block it. The company, led by John Feltheimer, bought Starz for $4.4 billion in 2016. However, the merged company currently has a market cap of just over $3 billion. Selling all or part of an asset can unlock value.
This is especially true given the large sums paid for content, including Amazon’s $8.45 billion purchase of MGM.
Roku released its first original programming page last year, and today it has a host of content on NewFronts. The free and ad-supported Roku Channel, which has reached 80 million homes, reached an agreement with Lionsgate last month for a special streaming window for Lionsgate movies as soon as Pay-1 streams on Starz. Lionsgate and Roku have also collaborated on other initiatives, including last year’s Christmas movie. Zoey’s Extraordinary ChristmasFeatured spinoff of former NBC series Lionsgate, which was acquired by Rocus.
Apollo is a big player who has a stake in the media. sand hill It was produced by Legendary Entertainment and acquired by Verizon Media Assets as well as television and radio station owner Cox Media Group.
Wall Street Journal The tender was announced for the first time.
The most recent addition to DirecTV is the company formed earlier last year by AT&T and private investment giant TPG Capital. AT&T’s latest WarnerMedia spin-off and merger with Discovery followed suit, as did DirecTV’s upgrade that stripped it of AT&T’s balance sheet even though the telecom giant had a 70% stake. AT&T, Warner Bros. He owns 69% of Discovery but has no control over it. One of the people in the Starz discussions said that a similar scenario discussed with Starz could allow Lionsgate to retain most of it, but not have to formally file its conclusions.
Lionsgate and Roku representatives declined to comment.
Speaking to analysts in February, Lionsgate Vice President Michael Burns said the company is “working with an excellent team of advisors with additional strengths and experience while continuing to unlock value for shareholders in our two core businesses” and promised updates. “At the right moment.”
star house foreign Y power book The series in February said its global streaming net subscribers reached 19.7 million, up 1.7 million in the last three months of the year, up 44% year-on-year. He said scheduling has returned to normal after Covid-related production cuts.
Pope Hayes contributed to this report.
Source: Deadline
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