Latest in Mergers and Acquisitions

In an all-stock deal struck designed for the current high-inflation economic environment facing streaming consumers, Crackle parent Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is acquiring Redbox. The value of the deal is about $375 million, most of which is the assumption of Redbox debt. Founded in the heyday of DVDs two…

TelevisaUnivision has inked a deal to acquire U.S. Spanish-language streaming service Pantaya from smaller rival Hemisphere Media Group, adding the asset to its recently announced global DTC offering VIX+ expected to launch in the second half of 2022. Financial terms weren't released but the deal is for cash plus…

Canal+, a division of French conglomerate Vivendi, is in the mix as potential suitors circle Lionsgate's pay TV and streamer Starz, according to a person familiar with the situation. Earlier this week, Deadline reported that Roku and Apollo Global management are bidding jointly for a minority stake in Starz and that…

Roku and Apollo Global Management have teamed up to bid for a minority stake in Starz, Deadline has confirmed. A person familiar with the situation said a first round of bids was several weeks ago and interested parties were just starting to get access to Starz data. Others are in the mix as well, with interested…

Amazon has assigned a value of $3.4 billion to MGM’s film and TV library, which it acquired along with the rest of the fabled Hollywood company in a deal that closed last March. Along with the film and TV content, Amazon in an SEC filing this morning pegged the goodwill value of MGM at $4.9 billion, most of which it…

In Warner Bros Discovery’s first earnings call with Wall Street analysts, CEO David Zaslav re-emphasized his plan to take a prudent approach to streaming as he guides the newly merged company. “Our goal is to maximize long-term shareholder value and asset value, not just subs,” he said. “We will not overspend to drive…

Kevin Hart’s two entertainment businesses, Hartbeat Productions and Laugh Out Loud, are merging into a single comedy-centered entity called Hartbeat. Along with the combination, the company is also announcing a $100 million investment by private equity firm Abry Partners. Nicolas Massard, a partner at Abry, will join…

Billionaire provocateur Elon Musk has sealed his acquisition of Twitter, leaving a major social media platform in the hands of the impulsive head of two other companies, SpaceX and Tesla. Musk and his backers are paying $54.20 per share in cash. Once the deal closes, Twitter will become a privately held company. Wall…

After three years at Sony, Colin Decker is stepping down as CEO of Crunchyroll, with longtime Funimation exec Rahul Purini poised to run the anime brand as president. The transition is occurring as Crunchyroll and Funimation continue to integrate their operations. AT&T sold Crunchyroll to Sony last year for $1.175…

The world's richest man has the funds to buy Twitter. But if he can’t clinch a deal for some reason, he told a TED Talk Thursday, he'll bring along as many shareholders as he can to reform the social media giant that’s become America’s “public square.” "I could technically afford it. But this [deal] is not a way to…

Shares in Warner Bros Discovery gained more than 5% to finish the trading day at $25.97 after earlier rising as much as 11% with a few more bulls piling  into the new stock. It is just the third day of trading for WBD, which moved sideways yesterday after starting off on Monday at $24.08. WarnerMedia formally spun off…

Discovery and WarnerMedia have closed their long-awaited mega-merger, creating a top-scale media player and streaming contender and ending an ill-fated foray into entertainment by AT&T. The combination will unite such disparate assets as HBO, CNN and the nearly 100-year-old Warner Bros film studio with unscripted…