If you’re in the market for a new stock pick to broaden your portfolio, then you may want to be on the lookout for the newly-minted LION ticket. From May 2024, Lionsgate Studios will be trading as a separate public company on the NASDAQ exchange. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment lawyers in Los Angeles, Brandon Blake, is here with all the information on this exciting new era for the studio.
Special Purpose Acquisition Company
Lionsgate has been making moves to spin off its film and TV studio business for a while now. Last week, a SEC filing was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing a new SPAC, Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp., to be formed alongside their sponsor, Eagle Equity Partners. This should allow the formation of a separate, independent Lionsgate Studio company to launch by early May. The next step will be a shareholder/public warrant holder meeting, currently set for May 7.
Separation from Starz
It is anticipated that the new standalone public company will open up new doors before the full separation from Starz is laid to rest. As a public company, it will be able to raise new capital as well as (potentially) merge with another business. Lionsgate, of course, comes complete with an immensely appealing legacy library across both film and TV. While most M&A attention is currently focused on the inevitable need to close a deal for the Paramount Group, this could open the doors to more merger-focused activity in the entertainment industry later this year. Particularly as Warner Bros Discovery, which has been having an excellent run of release luck recently, will be free to re-enter the bargaining space very shortly.
Under the new SPAC, the parent company will keep 87.3% of Lionsgate Studios shares, while Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp will control the remainder of the equity stake.
