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Lionsgate Makes Surprise Purchase of TV Guide Network
5-Jan-2009
Written by: Sari N. Kent
Lionsgate edges out One Equity Partners in the purchase of TV Guide Online and the TV Guide Network.
In a startling move, Lionsgate has purchased TV Guide Network and TV Guide Online for $255 million.
According to Reuters, “Lionsgate [has] agreed to buy TV Guide and TV Guide Network, seen by 83 million homes, for $255 million, from Macrovision Solutions Corp., the companies announced on Monday.”
The deal which is set to close by the end of February put an end to an accord made last month to sell the properties to Allen Shapiro and One Equity Partners for the same price.
“On the surface it's the same price,” said Alan Davis, an analyst with D.A. Davidson & Co., of Lake Oswego, Oregon. It seems the choice to sell to Lionsgate instead of One Equity Partners hinged on the closing date being sooner and fewer contingencies.
According to Variety.com, “Lionsgate is set to pay cash for the acquisition that's expected to close by Feb. 28. Shapiro's deal was also said to be for cash, but Macrovision execs said it was subject to other closing conditions that made it less attractive to Macrovision than the Lionsgate offer. Cory Ferengul, Macrovision's exec VP of marketing, said one of those conditions was the ability to close at the end of next month rather than April 1, as with the Shapiro deal.”
“This is tremendous real estate, rarely available, that fits extremely well with our strategy of combining content creation, distribution and direct access to the consumer,” Lionsgate Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer said in the statement.
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