Australia’s Village Roadshow Gets $523M Takeover Bid From Private Equity Firm

Village Roadshow, the Australian media giant that has distribution, exhibition, studio and theme parks wings, has received a takeover bid worth north of $500 million.

The company released a statement Thursday saying that Pacific Equity Partners, a Sydney-based private equity firm, had made an offer of $2.68 (AUD$3.90) per ordinary share, equating to $523M (AUD$761.2M).

The equity outfit has also already agreed to purchase 19% of Village Roadshow Corporation, a private company that is Village Roadshow’s largest shareholder with a 34% stake.

The Village Roadshow board said it was now considering the proposal and seeking legal and financial advice, and that there was “no certainty an acceptable proposal will eventuate.” Any takeover would also need to clear a number of conditions including due diligence.

Run by exec trio Robert Kirby, John Kirby and Graham Burke, Village Roadshow is one of Australia’s biggest media outfits, encompassing a chain of cinemas, multiple theme parks, a distribution wing that has long-standing deals with the likes of Warner Bros and STX, and a studio business that has hosted productions including Aquaman, and Thor: Ragnarok.

It also is a 20% shareholder in Los Angeles-based Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, which would continue to operate independently. Additionally, it owns a 31% stake in U.S. sales and production company FilmNation.

The company has endured a troubled few years, seeing its shares significantly fall in value. As a result, a management shift has been planned, with Burke set to exit as CEO and be replaced by Clark Kirby, who currently runs the theme parks biz, on January 1, 2020.