After months of negotiations and even after a government investigation, Hasbro has finally acquired Entertainment One (eOne for short) for a whopping US$ 3.8 Billion.
The new company (dubbed as ‘One Hasbro‘) will produce entertainment content based on Hasbro properties such as Transformers, Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony and many others.
“We are excited about what we can do together and see tremendous opportunity for shareholder value creation through this acquisition,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro chairman and chief executive officer. “Our businesses are highly complementary with substantial synergies and a great cultural fit. The addition of eOne accelerates our blueprint strategy by expanding our brand portfolio with eOne’s beloved global preschool brands, adding proven TV and film expertise, and creating additional opportunities for long-term profitable growth. We are pleased to welcome the incredibly talented eOne team to our Company.”
You can check out the full Press Release, after the jump.
Hasbro Completes Acquisition of Entertainment One
PAWTUCKET, R.I.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 30, 2019– Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) today announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Entertainment One Ltd. (eOne), adding beloved global brands and expanding storytelling through immersive entertainment experiences.
“We are excited about what we can do together and see tremendous opportunity for shareholder value creation through this acquisition,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro chairman and chief executive officer. “Our businesses are highly complementary with substantial synergies and a great cultural fit. The addition of eOne accelerates our blueprint strategy by expanding our brand portfolio with eOne’s beloved global preschool brands, adding proven TV and film expertise, and creating additional opportunities for long-term profitable growth. We are pleased to welcome the incredibly talented eOne team to our Company.”
Darren Throop, president and chief executive officer of eOne, will report to Goldner. In addition, eOne’s Olivier Dumont, president, family & brands, Steve Bertram, president, film & television, and Chris Taylor, global president, music, will also be joining Hasbro, reporting to Throop.
The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately £2.9 billion, based on the consideration of £5.60 per common share of eOne. Converted at a rate of 1.31 USD/GBP on December 30, 2019, the total cash consideration was approximately US$3.8 billion. Hasbro also expects to redeem eOne’s outstanding senior secured notes and to pay off the debt outstanding under eOne’s revolving credit facility, which together represent approximately £0.6 billion of eOne’s indebtedness.
About Hasbro
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a global play and entertainment company committed to Creating the World’s Best Play and Entertainment Experiences. From toys, games and consumer products to television, movies, digital gaming, live action, music, and virtual reality experiences, Hasbro connects to global audiences by bringing to life great innovations, stories and brands across established and inventive platforms. Hasbro’s iconic brands include NERF, MAGIC THE GATHERING, MY LITTLE PONY, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH, MONOPOLY, BABY ALIVE, POWER RANGERS, PEPPA PIG and PJ MASKS as well as premier partner brands. Through its global entertainment studio eOne, as well as its entertainment labels, Allspark Pictures and Allspark Animation, Hasbro is building its brands globally through great storytelling and content on all screens. Hasbro is committed to making the world a better place for children and their families through corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Hasbro ranked No. 13 on the 2019 100 Best Corporate Citizens list by CR Magazine, and has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere Institute for the past eight years. Learn more at www.hasbro.com, and follow us on Twitter (@Hasbro) and Instagram (@Hasbro).
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release contain “forward-looking statements” with respect to Hasbro within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may be accompanied by such words as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “target,” “will” and other words and terms of similar meaning. Among other things, these forward-looking statements include expectations concerning the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction and future opportunities for the combined company. Hasbro’s actual actions or results may differ materially from those expected or anticipated in the forward-looking statements due to both known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Specific factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: uncertainty of whether Hasbro could achieve the expected benefits and synergies from the transaction and successfully integrate the operations of eOne within the anticipated time frame or at all; risks of unexpected costs, liabilities or delays; integration difficulties, including the ability to retain key personnel; Hasbro’s indebtedness, including the additional indebtedness incurred in connection with the transaction; risks and uncertainties relating to the play and entertainment industries, including the retail landscape, distribution channels, consumer preferences, application of tariffs on Hasbro’s products, and other factors that may impact or alter Hasbro’s anticipated business plans, strategies and objectives; the effect of the consummation of the transaction on customers, employees, suppliers, partners and operating results; and other risks detailed from time to time in Hasbro’s filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements contained herein are based on Hasbro’s current beliefs and expectations and speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as may be required by law, Hasbro does not undertake any obligation to make any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Darth Gonzo
If Hasbro was to buy a comic company for the IP, I think it would be Archie because those ones seem more in Hasbro's wheel house then Valiant.
Michael Payton
The dub of RID 2k1 was owned by Saban, which was wholely sold to Disney years ago. When Saban repurchased the American Sentai shows, they did not purchase the future to their former animation properties. Disney still owns the dub.
They do not own Car Robots, however. The subtitled version if that show is as possible for NA distribution on physical or digital media as the other Japanese shows. As the last part of the Takara Beast Wars trilogy, I'd focus on encouraging Hasbro to release those three as a set, like we saw with Shout Factory's release of the Takara G1 Trilogy.
Also, if Hasbro ever decided to spent a few bucks on TF media, they could dub all six shows into English. Whoever produces that dub (eOne, etc) will be the owners of that dub regardless of what Disney owns. We already saw this with multiple releases of Gatchaman in the US by various companies, each with a different name and dub.
Post beer bug, Dark Horse is still valuable because of their manga sales, but they don't own a lot of IPs.
Boom actually makes some if the better indy comics today as well as publishing Power Rangers for Hasbro. Again, no IPs for sale. Dynamite solely exists on cheesecake comics, which sell well enough to get D list comic pros who've worn out their welcome at Disney and AT&T Comics.
Archie survives on the cash Warner Media gives them to make Sabrina and Riverdale. Valiant is on Death's door after being purchased by a Chinese media company for the movie IPs. They released Bloodshot, which made less money than any of IDW's media efforts. Honestly, Hasbro would be stupid to own a comic book publisher, just like Disney and AT&T are discovering. If they wanted IPs for media, buying Archie or Valiant would be a better investment, but they should license out the publishing end to anyone else, including Scholastic or Random House. Book trade is where comics are heading.
captain N
I just got a complete series dvd set made by e one. If they do dvd sets & hasbro has e one or what ever. Will has been get Transformers back out on dvd. Like the 2001 & 2015 Transformers Robots in Disguise & Rescue Bots & Cyberverse.
Hoffman
The statement is that they could do 'better' than IDW. Which one of those offers more value than IDW?
Darth Gonzo
Archie Comics, Boom! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, and Valiant Comics.
MrSoundmeister
If that was the case, it's more which company would buy Hasbro. WB or Disney.
Hoffman
DC is owned by WB
Marvel is owned by Disney
What other comic company do you think they could buy?
MrSoundmeister
I mean, with a style that doesn't require many advanced shading techniques… it might explain a lot.
ScientistMan
It's also really cheap to imitate.
Darth Gonzo
I think Hasbro could do better.
tokuformers
I said buy IDW
fishpop
Cos of course…
Every show has to follow the TTG model cos kids these days have no attention span or intelligence.
Amadeus Novilium
They work in league.
Also, G1 bumble bee is 15 ft.
Peppa pig is 7.
The adults are probably bigger.
It's all coming together.
Darth Gonzo
They don't own IDW.
tokuformers
IDW Publishing
Darth Gonzo
At some point Hasbro's going to buy a comic company most likely right?
Sharp7937
Great now vsco girls are going to get their grubby hands on the transformers