US: Lionsgate and Starz merger speculation resumes

Lionsgate Entertainment, the studio behind the Hunger Games movies and Netflix series Orange is the New Black, is again talking with premium cable channel operator Starzabout a potential merger, four months after talks between the two cooled, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The deal, if one materialized, would continue the trend toward mergers in the media industry that recently have included cable operator Comcast’s pending acquisition of DreamWorks Animation and the union of cable companies Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications.

Lions Gate owns a 15% voting stake in Starz and is seen working in concert with billionaire media investor John Malone, who holds interests in Lions Gate, Discovery Communications and Starz, among others. In February, Lions Gate said in a Schedule 13D filingwith the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had informed Starz that it “intends to explore whether there is a potentially mutually beneficial combination of the two companies.”

Full Content: Hollywood Reporter

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