Hasbro to acquire Entertainment One

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) and Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE: ETO) (eOne) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Hasbro will acquire eOne in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately £3.3 billion or US$4.0 billion. 

Under the terms of the agreement, eOne shareholders will receive £5.60 in cash for each common share of eOne, which represents a 31% premium to eOne’s 30-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) as of August 22, 2019.

“The acquisition of eOne 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. In addition, Hasbro will leverage eOne’s immersive entertainment capabilities to bring our portfolio of brands that have appeal to gamers, fans and families to all screens globally and realize full franchise economics across our blueprint strategy for shareholders,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro Chairman, and CEO.

“This transaction creates significant, immediate value for our shareholders as it recognizes the strength of our future-facing business model,” said Allan Leighton, eOne’s Chairman of the Board.

“Hasbro’s portfolio of integrated toy, game and consumer products, will further fuel the tremendous success we’ve achieved at eOne. There’s a strong cultural fit between our two companies; eOne’s stated mission is to unlock the power and value of creativity which aligns with Hasbro’s corporate objectives. eOne teams will continue to do what they do best, bolstered by the access to Hasbro’s extensive portfolio of richly creative IP and merchandising strength,” said Darren Throop, CEO of eOne.

The acquisition will advance Hasbro’s position as a leading global play and entertainment company, adding beloved, global preschool brands with proven success and strong financial returns across platforms to Hasbro’s robust portfolio.

eOne’s capabilities to bring high-quality content across platforms will strengthen Hasbro’s end-to-end ability to monetize and bring to market its IP in increasingly attractive new formats, including over-the-top (OTT) and premium platforms, music, location-based entertainment, AR and VR.