Latest in mergers and acquisitions

Twitter’s board of directors reiterated its call for shareholders to approve the proposed $44 billion acquisition of the firm led by Elon Musk, but the billionaire Tesla CEO separately warned of three “unresolved” issues that are holding up the transaction. In an SEC filing, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and Chairman Bret…

Talent Systems, which makes software for casting and auditioning, has made two significant acquisitions in the unscripted and reality TV sector. One deal is for the eTribez casting platform, which has been used for major reality shows Survivor, Big Brother, Idol, Love Island and MasterChef. The other is for Staff Me Up…

Jon Steinlauf, Warner Bros Discovery’s Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer declined to offer an update on the company’s upfront ad sales progress during Credit Suisse’s 24th Annual Communications Conference. “There’ll be a time for that,” he replied to the Wall Street firm’s Doug Mitchelson when the analyst asked…

Warner Bros Discovery, two months after closing its $43 billion merger, has taken the first step toward reducing its global workforce, initiating voluntary buyouts in its U.S. advertising sales division. Over time, the cuts will see up to 30% fewer employees in sales, an expected move reflecting overlap related to the…

UTA has acquired the Curtis Brown Group, the UK literary and talent agency that reps authors including Margaret Atwood, the literary estates of Ian Fleming and others as well as a roster of film and TV clients. The deal follows the 2020 combination of Curtis Brown and former rival Markham Froggatt and Irwin…

In his latest attack on Twitter, delivered via a letter from his lawyer, Elon Musk accused the company of “refusing to comply” with his requests for information about bots and fake accounts, and threatened to pull his $44 billion takeover offer. Twitter agreed to accept Musk’s unsolicited bid in April. The weeks since…

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…

Tesla stock has reversed its slump after Elon Musk said he is finished selling stock in the electric vehicle firm he runs as CEO in order to fund his pending $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. About $8.5 billion in stock sales, done in multiple transactions spanning 9.4 million shares, have been disclosed over the…

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…

Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav and other top execs met with employees in a town hall this morning on the Warner lot in Burbank. The gathering was primarily a restatement of many of the key messages from the nearly year-long buildup to the historic merger, though the exec did briefly touch on looming layoffs…