HASBRO, INC. is in talks with Entertainment One (EOne) founder Darren Throop to sell most of the film and TV studio’s assets back to him, according to people familiar with the matter.
Throop, who previously served as chief executive officer of EOne, is among the leading bidders, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. He has the backing of private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. Hasbro and Throop declined to comment. CVC didn’t immediately respond to a request.
EOne was created from the merger of several music distributors and expanded into Hollywood in the 2000s. Recently produced titles include the film The Woman King and the TV series Yellowjackets, which airs on Showtime.
Hasbro, which gained the popular Peppa Pig kids franchise when it acquired the studio in 2019 for $4 billion, has been selling EOne divisions it doesn’t consider central to its strategy. In 2021, Hasbro sold EOne’s music business to Blackstone, Inc. for $385 million. In November, the toymaker asked JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Centerview Partners to steer a sale of EOne after CEO Chris Cocks said potential buyers expressed interest.
Deadline reported earlier this week that CVC was a suitor.
The units on the block include EOne’s film and TV production business, and a library of about 6,500 titles. Those include the reality show Naked and Afraid and a distribution arm for popular series such as The Walking Dead. They account for $1 billion in revenue, or about 16% of Hasbro’s total.
Mr. Cocks has said that Hasbro will invest the proceeds in its gaming brands, which include Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, as well as in new films based on its franchises and to pay down debt. — Bloomberg
