By Amy-Jo Crowley and Milana Vinn
July 14 (Reuters) - Lionsgate Studios, the entertainment company behind the "Hunger Games" and "John Wick" franchises, is exploring a sale and has attracted takeover interest from France's Bollore Group, as consolidation accelerates across the media industry, three people familiar with the matter said.
The company, which has a market value of about $3.8 billion, has been working with an investment bank to evaluate inbound approaches, the sources said, requesting anonymity
because the discussions are confidential. Sources warn a deal is not certain, and Lionsgate could still remain independent.
Banijay Group, the television production company behind hits such as "Big Brother" and "Survivor" that earlier this year completed its merger with All3Media, is among other suitors that have considered a bid for Lionsgate Studios, two of the people said. A bid from Banijay may take time as the company remains focused on integrating All3Media, another source added.
Bollore wants to bolster the production capabilities of Canal+, the pay-TV company in which it holds a controlling interest.
Lionsgate and Banijay declined to comment. Bollore did not respond to a request for comment made outside of business hours.
The interest reflects a broader push by European media companies to build scale and secure sought-after intellectual property as they compete with global streaming giants. Lionsgate Studios owns a catalogue of films and television series that includes "The Twilight Saga" franchises and the recent Michael Jackson biopic "Michael," which grossed more than $1 billion at the box office.
The discussions come as Lionsgate director and shareholder Mark Rachesky earlier this month transferred the roughly 10% stake he holds through his private equity fund into a newly created investment vehicle backed by RenWave Kore, according to a securities filing. RenWave Kore, founded in 2024 by Cody Kittle, a former portfolio manager at activist investor Elliott Investment Management, is backed by Sequoia Heritage.
The valuation sought by shareholders could make it difficult for bidders to reach an agreement, two of the sources said. One of them added that previous interested parties walked away because of price expectations. Investors are paying 26 times expected pretax profit for shares in Lionsgate, according to LSEG data, a premium to peer companies.
(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley in London and Milana Vinn in New York, additional reporting by Svea-Herbst Bayliss in New York, Editing by Echo Wang, Edmund Lee and Sanjeev Miglani)
