Lionsgate Studios To Split With Starz In SPAC Deal

deadline.com:

Lionsgate Studios — the TV studio, motion picture group and film and television libraries —  will merge with Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp., a SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company led by CEO Eli Baker, in a long-anticipated move to split from Starz that’s expected to close this spring.

Lionsgate Studios will then be one of the biggest pure-play publicly-traded content companies, and an attractive acquisition target with a portfolio that includes franchise properties The Hunger Games, John Wick, The Twilight Saga and Ghosts, a robust film and television production and distribution business, a leading talent management and production company, and a large film and television library that throws off significant cash.

Lionsgate has planned for nearly two years to separate the studio and Starz. CEO Jon Feltheimer last said in August the plan was to wait until the company closed its acquisition of eOne from Hasbro, which will be announced next week.

SPAC’s have come and gone on Wall Street but Screaming Eagle has distinguished pedigree. Its chaired by Harry Sloan, the longtime media exec and current Lionsgate board member who has stood up some of the earliest and most successful SPACs in media and entertainment in partnership with Jeff Sagansky and others.