Legendary, which is backed by Apollo Global Management, first approached the company after Lionsgate finalized its separation from the Starz Entertainment Corp. TV network and streaming service in May, said the people, who asked not be named as the information is private. Those talks centered on a potential partnership to produce a handful of films so that Legendary could gauge how the two companies worked together and whether it should ultimately proceed with a takeover offer, the people said.
Representatives for Legendary and Lionsgate declined to comment. Lionsgate shares jumped 8% after Bloomberg reported the news.
Lionsgate, which currently has a market cap of $1.8 billion, owns the rights to popular film franchises including John Wick, The Hunger Games and Twilight, has produced TV hits including AMC’s Mad Men and would provide Legendary with a theatrical distribution network.
A Minecraft Movie, which was co-produced by Legendary and released by Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s film studio in April, is the highest grossing movie at the domestic box office so far this year, having sold $423.9 million worth of tickets in the US and Canada.
Josh Grode, Legendary’s chief executive officer, said in a 2024 interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that he planned to tap Apollo’s finances for takeovers in the entertainment industry that would collectively be worth billions of dollars.
Last year, Legendary and Apollo were linked to a potential acquisition of Paramount Pictures film studio, and were later linked to a potential acquisition of parent company Paramount Global. That business is instead being acquired by David Ellison’s Skydance Media LLC.
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