Summit Purchased by Lionsgate for $412.5 Million
Posted on 13. Jan, 2012 by Amanda31 in News
Rumors had been circulating that a deal was in the works for Lionsgate (home of The Hunger Games) to purchase Summit, and it was officially announced today
Lionsgate has purchased Summit for $412.5 million, the companies announced on Friday.
The two independent studios have been circling each other for months. The deal is being structured as a leveraged buyout, in the form of cash and stock.
“We are uniting two powerful entertainment brands, bringing together two world-class feature film franchises to establish a commanding position in the young adult market, strengthening our global distribution infrastructure and creating a scalable platform that will result in significant and accretive financial benefits to Lionsgate shareholders,” Lionsgate Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer and Vice Chairman Michael Burns said in a statement.
“Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger have built a remarkable organization, and we’re pleased to welcome Summit’s talented team to the Lionsgate family,” the pair added.
… However, insiders at both studios feel that Summit’s experience in transforming the vampire “Twilight” series into a global box office phenomenon can help Lionsgate pull off a similar feat with “The Hunger Games.” This could help turn the studio, a launching pad for mid-budget genre films, into a lekking ground for young adult film franchises.
You can read the full article at The Wrap. Interested to see what this means for Breaking Dawn Part 2 (if anything)!
