Lionsgate‘s TV and film studio business has officially broken up with Starz.
On Wednesday, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. completed the full separation of the Lionsgate Studios and Starz businesses into two standalone, publicly traded companies.
Lionsgate will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the ticker symbol “LION,” while Starz returns to being a standalone public company with trading commencing today on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “STRZ.”
The separation was approved by over 99% of both Class A and B shareholders at an April 23 meeting. The former dual-share structure of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. will become a single class of stock as of today.
According to Lionsgate, the separation is “designed to unlock incremental value by creating two pure-play, standalone companies able to pursue their own strategic, financial and operational priorities and attract investors drawn to the strengths of their respective businesses.” Lionsgate had acquired Starz, a premium cable network and streamer, in 2016 for $4.4 billion.
Lionsgate’s business includes the studio business, releasing 30 to 40 films a year, including a dozen wide theatrical releases, as well as creating more than 100 shows spanning its scripted and unscripted TV businesses. The company also owns a 20,000-plus title film and television library, and operates talent management and production company 3 Arts Entertainment.
Starz had about 20 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada as of Dec. 31, 2024. The company’s franchises include “Outlander” and “Power,” both which “have remained culturally relevant for over a decade,” Starz said. It also has several “Power” universe spinoff series and is prepping the “Outlander: Blood of My Blood” prequel series.
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“We began our journey 25 years ago as a new and different kind of studio, committed to bold, original content, agnostic to distribution platform, disciplined in our execution and powered by a deep library and an agile and entrepreneurial culture,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer, in a statement. “Today we’re launching an exciting new chapter as a leading pure play content company, adapting our proven strengths, embracing our emerging opportunities, and bringing our unique and not-easily-replicable portfolio of assets to bear on our mission of creating significant incremental value for our partners, audiences and shareholders.”
Jeffrey Hirsch, president and CEO of Starz, said in a statement: “Today marks an important milestone in our history as we unlock significant value as a standalone business and advance our position as the leading premium entertainment destination for women and underrepresented audiences.”
Hirsch said the separation “comes at a pivotal time for the industry.” He continued, “Our strong balance sheet, compelling programming lineup and industry-leading tech stack will enable us to be nimble and capitalize on growth opportunities, while driving long-term success for our partners, audiences, employees and shareholders. We are thankful to Jon [Feltheimer[ and the entire Lionsgate team for the past eight years of collaboration as well as for the ongoing partnership we’ll maintain, and I look forward to beginning this new chapter for Starz.”
Pictured above: Lionsgate’s Jon Feltheimer (left), Starz’s Jeffrey Hirsch
From Variety US