New York: CBS Corp’s seemingly inexorable march toward acquiring Viacom may take a detour.
The broadcasting giant recently talked to Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. about buying that company’s Starz cable network, according to people familiar with the matter, a deal that could happen alongside a potential purchase of Viacom.
CBS made an informal bid of about $5 billion (Dh18 billion) that was rebuffed, the Information reported, but the suitor remains interested.
Reports said Lions Gate offered to sell Starz to CBS for $5.5 billion, suggesting that the two sides aren’t too far apart.
News of the talks sent shares of Lions Gate up 15 per cent on Friday, marking their biggest single-day rally in 18 years.
Starz has become a key asset for the struggling Lions Gate studio, known for the John Wick and Hunger Games films, and the company has been seeking ways to expand the network’s footprint. Lions Gate has held talks with potential partners about funding Starz’s international growth, Bloomberg reported last week.
A $5 billion offer would be bigger than Lions Gate’s entire market capitalisation, though the studio’s enterprise value — a figure that includes debt — is $6.67 billion.
Earlier approach
CBS was interested in buying Starz before it got acquired by Lions Gate for $4.4 billion in 2016. The network, which carries shows such as American Gods, attracts an audience that CBS doesn’t reach with its current line-up. In addition to its broadcast network, CBS owns the premium channel Showtime.
Starz is largely aimed at female and African-American viewers, and has focused on international growth. Showtime’s programming, meanwhile, is more in line with that of HBO, with dramas such as “Billions” and sports like boxing. Combining Starz and Showtime could result in a good deal of costs savings.
CBS is weighing its next moves after the ouster of longtime Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves last year. He was fired in September after a dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct, setting off a shake-up that included a board overhaul. Joe Ianniello, formerly chief operating officer, has been running the New York-based company as interim CEO ever since.
The Redstone family, which controls both CBS and Viacom, has long advocated a merger of those two companies. Shari Redstone can’t propose such a deal for a couple years under a legal settlement her family holding company reached with CBS when Moonves left. But that doesn’t prevent other board members at CBS or Viacom from proposing a deal.
Stock Surge
Shares of Lions Gate jumped to $15.60 on Friday, giving it a market value of $3.23 billion. The stock had been down 16 per cent this year through Thursday’s close.
Viacom slipped less than 1 per cent in the wake of the news, while shares of CBS were little changed.
Lions Gate has been speaking to financial and strategic investors about financing the roll-out of its Starz network in overseas markets, a person familiar with the situation said last week. A deal could involve raising several hundred million dollars for a multi-year roll-out of the subscription video service into more countries, the person said.
In March, Apple Inc. said it will carry the channel on its upcoming streaming service, following an agreement last year for it to be part of Amazon Prime in the UK and Germany.
Starz has also launched in Canada on Bell Media and is the leading subscription video-on-demand service in the Middle East and North Africa. The network could be in over 50 international territories by next year.
