Lions Gate Entertainment Said to Seek Buyer for TV Guide Channel, Website
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF), which agreed last week to acquire the independent studio Summit Entertainment, is seeking buyers for the TV Guide cable channel and website, according to an investor briefed on the deal.
The company, run from Santa Monica, California, is seeking a “substantial increase” over the $242 million it paid in March 2009, said the person, who declined to be identified because the briefing was confidential. Lions Gate began shopping TV Guide two months ago, the person said.
The studio, maker of the “Saw” horror films and cable TV’s “Mad Men,” prefers to sell the channel and website together, the person said. In the six months ended Sept. 30, TV Guide’s loss widened to $20.3 million from $13.6 million a year earlier, according to Lions Gate regulatory filings. Revenue fell 11 percent to $50.8 million.
Lions Gate sold a 49 percent stake in the TV Guide channel and website to JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)’s One Equity Partners in May 2009 for $123 million. The bank retained an option for another 1 percent. The New York Post reported on the sale plans earlier today.
Jon Feltheimer, Lions Gate’s chief executive officer, said last year the studio planned to sell noncore assets. In June, the company sold Maple Pictures, to Canadian distribution unit, for $38.5 million to Alliance Films.
Last week, the company announced it purchased Summit for $412.5 million in cash and stock. Most of the acquisition was financed with cash from Summit, according to the Jan. 13 announcement.
Lions Gate, based in Vancouver, gained 4 percent to $8.94 at the close in New York. The stock rose 28 percent last year. Billionaire Carl Icahn dropped a $7.50 a share buyout offer for the company in December 2010.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ronald Grover in Los Angeles at rgrover5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net
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