Following months of rumors and rumblings topped by a Bloomberg report this morning, Hasbro Inc. has confirmed plans to sell its Entertainment One (eOne) film and TV business. J.P. Morgan and Centerview Partners have been retained to facilitate the deal.
The Rhode Island-based toymaker which now positions itself as “a global branded entertainment leader” revealed that it has authorized the sale of the part of eOne that is not supporting its global branded entertainment strategy. Hasbro notes that while it will sell the eOne film and TV business, the company maintains the ability to develop and produce content directly related to its owned intellectual property (IP), including animation, digital shorts, scripted TV, and theatrical films.
“Following our recent Investor Day where we introduced our new branded entertainment strategy, Blueprint 2.0, we received inbound interest from several parties for the part of the eOne TV and film business that while valuable is not core to our go-forward strategy,” says Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks. “This interest informed our decision to explore a sale process. The acquisition of eOne delivered fantastic talent, top-tier production and deal-making capability, and beloved brands with strong toyetic potential including Peppa Pig. We will retain these terrific capabilities while exploring the best way to maximize the value of the eOne TV and film business for the benefit of our shareholders.”
When Hasbro acquired eOne at the end of 2019, the deal brought PJ Masks, Peppa Pig, Ricky Zoom, and other properties into the Hasbro portfolio. At the time, the company was quick to end deals with third-party licensors to bring those brands in-house. Now, as part of Hasbro’s Blueprint 2.0 strategy, the focus has changed with an emphasis on a few internal brands while others from the Hasbro portfolio will be licensed to other companies at an accelerated rate.
This morning, Hasbro confirmed plans to “significantly increase strategic investment in key brands, with a focus on gaming, direct to consumer (D2C), Franchise Brands, and licensing.”
Hasbro says that its priority brands for investment include Transformers, Dungeons & Dragons, Power Rangers, Peppa Pig, Play-Doh, My Little Pony, Magic: The Gathering, and the Hasbro Gaming portfolio, including Clue and Monopoly.
Assets being explored for a potential sale include non-Hasbro-branded film and scripted TV projects and a library of more than 6,500 titles, such as Yellowjackets, The Rookie, and more.
