Hasbro Completes $3.8 Billion Acquisition of Entertainment One

Cynthia Littleton

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Hasbro is poised to become a bigger player in entertainment now that the toy giant has completed its acquisition of Entertainment One.

The $3.8 billion all-cash deal was unveiled in August. Entertainment One CEO Darren Throop will report to Hasbro chairman-CEO Brian Goldner. Olivier Dumont, eOne’s president of family & brands, Steve Bertram, president, film and television, and Chris Taylor, global president of music, will also make the move to Hasbro and continue to report to Throop.

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Hasbro also said Monday in announcing the closing that it would pay off about $700,000 in eOne debt as part of the transaction. As of eOne’s most recent earnings report from March, the company has about $450 million in debt on its books.

Hasbro aims to capitalize on eOne’s kidvid brands including the “Peppa Pig” franchise, and it aims to use eOne’s production and distribution infrastructure to boost its array of well-known properties ranging from “Transformers” to board games such as Monopoly to “My Little Pony.”

“We are excited about what we can do together and see tremendous opportunity for shareholder value creation through this acquisition,” said Goldner. “Our businesses are highly complementary with substantial synergies and a great cultural fit. The addition of eOne accelerates our blueprint strategy by expanding our brand portfolio with eOne’s beloved global preschool brands, adding proven TV and film expertise, and creating additional opportunities for long-term profitable growth.”

It’s still unclear whether Hasbro intends to pursue projects outside of the kid and family realm. Entertainment One is known for producing and distributing art-house movies and adult series for buyers in the U.S., U.K. and other key markets.

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