Hasbro swoops on Peppa Pig-maker Entertainment One in $4bn deal
US toy giant Hasbro is set to snap up London-listed Peppa Pig-maker Entertainment One in a $4bn (£3.3bn) deal.
The two companies said tonight they had agreed an all-cash deal with Entertainment One shareholders to receive £5.60 in cash for each share.
The deal marks a 31 per cent premium to Entertainment One’s 30-day average price at 22 August.
Read more: Profits slip at Entertainment One after £61m write down
Yesterday, Entertainment One’s shares closed up one per cent at 443p.
In Entertainment One’s last set of full-year results in May, profit before tax fell 43 per cent to £37m.
The company wrote down £61m, blaming changing consumer trends.
Its growth was driven by Peppa Pig, superhero show PJ Masks and its new production Cupcake & Dino.
Read more: Media firm Entertainment One on track as it shifts focus to film production
Hasbro chairman and chief executive Brian Goldner said: “The acquisition of E One adds beloved story-led global family brands that deliver strong operating returns to Hasbro’s portfolio and provides a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling, which will now include Hasbro’s IP.”
Entertainment One’s chairman Allan Leighton said: “This transaction creates significant, immediate value for our shareholders as it recognises the strength of our future-facing business model.”
Centerview Partners is serving as financial adviser to Hasbro and Cravath Swaine & Moore, Stikeman Elliott and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are serving as its legal counsel. JP Morgan Cazenove is serving as financial adviser to Entertainment One and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt and Mayer Brown International are serving as its legal counsel.