Company: Last News

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Savvy Games Group announced an agreement to acquire Scopely, a maker of mobile games including “Star Trek Fleet Command,” “Marvel Strike Force,” “Looney Tunes World of Mayhem,” “Scrabble Go” and “Yahtzee With Buddies,” in a deal valued at $4.9 billion. Savvy, a games and esports company that is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, said the acquisition will “strengthen Savvy’s global position, whilst enabling Scopely to accelerate its growth and achievement of its strategic objectives.” The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval. Scopely will be an “autonomous operating company” under the Savvy umbrella, joining other companies in its portfolio such as esports brand ESL FaceIt Group. Founded in 2011, L.A.-based Scopely had a $3.3 billion post-money valuation in 2020 after raising a $340 million funding round. Scopely’s valuation had climbed to $5.4 billion after it acquired GSN Games from Sony for $1 billion in 2021.

EXCLUSIVE: ABC‘s new drama series The Company You Keep is continuing to find its audience since premiering in February.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Malia Obama is staying in the Donald Glover business. As part of a new GQ cover story on the “Atlanta” creator, Glover revealed that his newly-created production company, Gilga, is developing a short film with Malia Obama, the eldest daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama. GQ confirmed Malia is “creating” the short film. It’s unconfirmed at this time if Malia will direct the project. Malia already has experience working with Glover as part of the writer’s room of his buzzy Amazon Prime Video series “Swarm,” which debuted March 17 on the streaming platform. Malia had a writing credit on the show’s fifth episode, “Girl Bye,” alongside series co-creator Janine Nabers.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Roch Bozino, the founder and managing director of Paris-based sales company Java Films, has died at the age of 62. Bozino passed away on March 30 from cancer. Roch founded Java Films in 2005 after having worked as a producer for many years at VM Group, where he founded the company’s international sales department in 1998 and headed its documentary distribution unit. He quickly established Java Films as one of Europe’s leading independent distributors. He was respected across the industry for his unwavering support of documentary filmmakers. Roch was known for his keen interest in political and historical documentaries in particular.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will merge into one company as part of a sale to Endeavor Group Holdings. The new operation will be valued at $21.4 billion thanks to the UFC's $12.1 billion valuation and WWE's $9.3 billion. WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon will join the new "global live sports and entertainment company" in the same role.

EXCLUSIVE: The UK-based VFX and animation company Jellyfish Pictures has launched a new production outpost in Mumbai, India, and hired producer Jasjit Singh as General Manager to run operations.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Endeavor Group Holdings and World Wrestling Entertainment said Monday that they had signed a definitive agreement to form a new, publicly listed company consisting of two complementary, global sports and entertainment brands: UFC and WWE. The deal was reported to be close over the weekend by financial media CNBC and Bloomberg. Upon closing, Endeavor will hold a 51% controlling interest in the new company and existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% interest. “Together, UFC and WWE will have global reach, impressive scale and omnichannel distribution,” Endeavor said in a statement.

When chef and restaurant owner Michael Clay was told he would have to pay £32,000 to exit an energy contract he signed up for last December, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Michael owns the small pizzeria Dokes in Prestwich.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Two veteran Netflix creative executives are parting ways with the streamer following a restructuring of the film group. Indie film and documentary features lead Lisa Nishimura and indie film vice president Ian Bricke have both stepped down. The change comes as the result of streamlining under Netflix film head Scott Stuber. All live-action film content will now roll up to Kira Goldberg, Ori Marmur and Niija Kuykendall. “Lisa Nishimura joined Netflix in the DVD days, and as the company moved into streaming, she built our original documentary and stand-up comedy divisions from the ground up, and established Netflix as a powerhouse in both spaces,” Stuber told Variety in a statement of the executive, a fixture in the indie community and on the annual festival circuit.

Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company is bringing back its barnstorming stage adaptation of famed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s hand-drawn 1988 classic My Neighbour Totoro for a second season at London’s Barbican in November.

Bob Yari and Marvin Peart have today announced the launch of WonderHill Studios, a new production and distribution company that will operate in the independent space, focusing on film and television production, domestic film distribution, acquisitions and foreign sales.

A Disney spokesperson has confirmed to Deadline that Ike Perlmutter is out at the company. Note, Permutter oversaw the consumer products division of Marvel, and isn’t part of the Kevin Feige-led Marvel Studios.

Ruben Östlund and Erik Hemmendorff’s company Plattform Produktion has issued an apology to Berlin-based Argentinian artist Lola Arias over the use of her name in the 2017 Cannes Palme d’Or Winner The Square.

A former police officer has recouped a £75,000 investment he put into a company owned by conman Matthew Farr.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features It’s 25 minutesbefore showtime at Krakow, Poland’s Tauron Arena, and Michael Bublé is cool as a cucumber. A February chill in Europe, where he is touring across more than a dozen countries including the U.K., Germany, France, Spain and Italy, is nothing new to the singer raised outside Vancouver. Likewise, the dress- ing room serves as a familiar home away from home for the five-time Grammy winner, who picked up his latest gramophone statuette for traditional pop vocal album in February. A dual citizen of both Canada and Italy, from where his maternal side hails, Bublé never gets stage fright. And 11 albums in — “Higher” was released last March — with sales topping 75 million and his songs streaming over 14 billion, sold-out crowds have also become de rigueur, worthy of recognition with Variety’s Intl. Achievement in Music Award, which he is receiving March 26 in London.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In front of a panel of skeptical and often hostile U.S. representatives, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew tried to make the case for why the popular app is not a security threat to the country — and why a government ban of the app would be the wrong course of action. A U.S. ban of the app would hurt the country’s economy, reduce competition and “silence the voices of over 150 million Americans,” Chew said in testimony submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The hearing, titled “TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms,” was held Thursday morning in Washington, D.C. The Biden administration recently demanded that ByteDance divest its ownership stake in TikTok or potentially be banned in the U.S. over national-security concerns given TikTok’s Chinese ownership. Under pending congressional legislation, which has bipartisan support, President Biden would have the authority to ban TikTok under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The chairwoman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee opened a hearing featuring the CEO of TikTok by telling him that “your platform should be banned.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Jim Henson Company and Marblemedia are using comedy to put children’s mental health under the microscope.

People are being asked to rent out rooms in their home for patients coming out of hospital. The scheme, run by a private company, is being trialled in Stockport.

EXCLUSIVE: Geoff Stults (Little Fires Everywhere) is set for a key recurring role in ABC’s The Company You Keep, starring and executive produced by Milo Ventimiglia.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Craig Mazin’s Word Games Entertainment has promoted Jacqueline Lesko to the role of president of production, Variety has learned. “Jacqueline has been an integral part of our company’s growth and success for a decade now, and the proof of her value is right there on the screen for everyone to see,” Mazin said in a statement. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner as we continue our journey with my own projects as well as shows we’re developing with other artists.” Lesko was a co-executive producer on the first season of Mazin’s hit HBO series “The Last of Us,” based on the video game of the same name, which recently concluded its first season. She will now be an executive producer on Season 2 of the show. “The Last of Us” has proven to be incredibly popular with viewers and critics, with the recent season finale pulling in a series high 8.2 million viewers on linear and streaming platforms the night it aired. In addition, the first season holds a 96% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.