Entertainment One Ltd. Completes Acquisition of Alliance Films Holdings Inc.
Entertainment One Ltd. (“eOne” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that following the announcement on 3 January 2013 regarding clearance having been received from the Canadian Competition Bureau, and the remaining conditions having been met, the Company has completed its previously announced acquisition of Alliance from affiliates of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Investissement Québec (the “Acquisition”).
Alliance is a leading independent distributor of filmed entertainment products in Canada, the United Kingdom and Spain.
The board of eOne believes that the Acquisition brings the following benefits:
- The combination of eOne and Alliance will establish the Company as the largest independent film distributor in each of the Canadian and UK markets. The Directors of the Company believe that the Acquisition will strengthen eOne’s existing film distribution business and help drive growth.
- Alliance and eOne operate in geographies that are highly complementary and the Company will have an international reach across Canada, the United Kingdom, Benelux, Australia, the United States and Spain.
- Alliance’s film library includes some of the most commercially successful independently produced titles of the last twenty years, including Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, Lord of the Rings, The King’s Speech and The Hunger Games. The Company will benefit from a combined library of more than 35,000 film and television titles.
- The Company will have increased access to the most successful independent film studios through output agreements in Canada including with The Weinstein Company, Focus Features and Relativity.
- The Acquisition will enhance the Company’s long-term growth potential through a combined investment in content of over approximately CAD$225 million per year.
- The Directors believe that the Acquisition will deliver estimated annualised pre-tax cost synergies of at least CAD$20million (by the third anniversary of completion), driving substantial enhancement of eOne’s earnings per share.
Commenting on the completion of the Acquisition, Darren Throop, Chief Executive, said:
“We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of Alliance. We now look forward to driving the Company forward and representing the very best in independent film across all of our markets.
This acquisition represents a key strategic milestone for the Company. It further strengthens our platform, enabling us to grow across all of our Film, Television and Family businesses, as well as improving the quality of content we represent. We are now in a better position than ever to continue to create value for our shareholders and I look forward to the opportunities that the acquisition will bring.”
This is an excerpt of a press release from Entertainment One Ltd. Click here for the full release.