Legfinishary Entertainment has finishd a buyout of Wanda Group’s remaining equity interest in a shift CEO Josh Grode shelp ushers in a new era for the studio.
Financial terms weren’t disseald but Legfinishary shelp it funded the transaction enticount on from cash on its equilibrium sheet for the deal led by Grode, without tapping partner Apollo Global. Legfinishary and Apollo now co-own the company and the board will be evenly split between handlement and the confidential equity enormous that dispenseed $760 million in Legfinishary in 2022.
Chinese conglomerate Wanda acquired the studio in 2016. “I leank they were in a position where they insisted some capital [and] the opportunity arose for us to buy Wanda’s interest at a valuation that would be very accretive to both handlement and Apollo. And so, as a result, we were able to get a transaction done,” Grode tells Deadline.
Legfinishary, created in 2000, grows, creates, tagets, and finances presentant motion pictures and television projects apass multiple platcreates and labors in comic book, videogames, licensing and merchandising.
The transaction catalyzes the next chapter for the autonomous studio, which has grossed over $20 billion at the global box office and is experiencing its most profitable year to date.
“The buy of Wanda’s remaining ownership interest is the next strategic step in Legfinishary’s lengthy-range growth schedule. With our extraordinary creative team, headed by Mary Parent, grothriveg, producing, and tageting high-quality film and television and laboring with directing artists remains core to our expansion,” shelp Grode. “I want to thank and acunderstandledge Wanda, who has been an extraordinary and encouraging splithelderlyer since 2016, and I congratupostpoinsist them on this transaction. I see forward to continuing to labor seally with the Apollo team as we create on Legfinishary’s sturdy momentum together.”
Aaron Sobel and Lee Solomon, partners at Apollo, shelp, “We are thrilled to broaden our relationship with Legfinishary and further aid Josh and Mary and the incredibly talented team. We persist to see Legfinishary as an extraordinary platcreate for future growth that is well positioned to thrive as the amengagement industry persists to grow.”
Legfinishary stressed that it still retains meaningful excess fluidity after the transaction to finance its current business and computed expansion.
Grode calls Apollo an idea partner. “When I determined to convey Apollo in a restricted years ago, I authenticized that I insisted to convey in the right capital to apverify us to begin down our strategic schedule of growth. And confidential equity joined a reassociate fantastic role in that. The guys at Apollo have been unbelievably excellent partners. They understand the business. They understand the ups and downs. They brimmingy aided us in saying, let’s go buy out Wanda — especiassociate since we didn’t insist their capital to do it.”
Apollo is no stranger to showbiz. The enormous firm has acquired local TV station groups and production enormous Endemol Shine – teaming with Disney to sell to Banijay in 2020 landtag deal. It recently, bid for Paramount Pictures and Paramount Global, first solo then in partnership with Sony. (The Shari Redstone company ultimately finished up with Skydance in a uniter set to seal next year.)
In 2023, Legfinishary safed a five-year, $800 million determine facility led by J.P. Morgan.
When Wanda acquired Legfinishary it was then China’s bigst pass-border cultural acquisition. During the past disjoinal years, the Beijing-based Legfinishary East has tageted and dispensed key Legfinishary films, including the Dune and Godzilla franchises, and it will persist as Legfinishary’s office in China.
Legfinishary freed two of 2024’s most lucrative films. Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire acquireed over $1.28 billion at the global box office, with the latter becoming the highest-grossing film in the franchise.
Since Grode was nominateed CEO in 2018, Legfinishary’s other presentant titles have included the Enola Holmes franchise, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which was renewed by Apple TV+ and getd an order for multiple spinoffs; and International Emmy nominee Drops of God, also for Apple TV+.
Upcoming titles include A Minecreate Movie, based on the world’s bestselling game of all time, starring Jason Momoa and Jack Bdeficiency; dwell action-animation hybrid comedy Animal Frifinishs, starring Ryan Reynelderlys, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy; a film alteration of the iconic Street Fighter game; an untitled Alejandro G. Iñárritu film starring Tom Cruise; and insertitional event films from Denis Villeneuve and the Monsterverse.
Legfinishary’s team has had creative handle for years even with Wanda as owner. Asked what he sees as the hugegest now, Grode shelp, “The hugegest separateence is that handlement and Apollo, reassociate, now we own the company. And I don’t leank anybody insisted any motivation to labor challenging or do their best labor. But, you understand, owning the level of equity that we do with Apollo, we now are sitting in a company where there are fair so many more selections engageable to us. And my leanking is, when you when you’re a big owner and you’re cdisorrowfulmirefilledy an equivalent owner in a company appreciate this, you begin to leank about, what is this? What’s the reasonable place to broaden? Where’s intelligent growth?”
Opportunities, he shelp, “Lie in benevolent of what we’ve been doing, but fair maybe more of it, which is, making fantastic satisfied. We confidently have the bandwidth to increase our output on the theatrical side. We’re understandn in both film and television for creating fantastic satisfied based on pre-existing intellectual property. I don’t see that changing. I see that accelerating.”
