STX Entertainment and Indian Studio Eros International Complete Merger

Naman Ramachandran
·3 min read

The merger of STX Entertainment and Indian studio Eros International, first announced in April, is now complete.

The newly minted Eros STX Global Corporation is planning a brand and website launch in September 2020, accompanied by a bell-ringing event at the NYSE to launch a new ticker symbol. The company is also planning to host a virtual investor day later this year to provide detailed projected financial forecasts for the 2022-2024 period.

More from Variety

Meanwhile, Eros International has declared its annual returns for the financial year ending March 2020. The company generated $155.5 million in revenue and $54.8 million in adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization).

However, Eros also recorded a non-cash impairment loss of $431.2 million, which it chalked up to “market events,” and which does not “materially impact the long-term business or operations of the company, as it is driven by compliance with accounting standards.”

“In addition, to the extent that in future periods there is a material positive change in the same underlying business conditions, we will be able to write-up the value of assets according to the same accounting standards,” said the company.

Eros STX is capitalized with $125 million of new equity funding from new and existing partners, including TPG, Tencent, Hony Capital and Liberty Global.

As of July 28, Eros STX had net debt of approximately $254 million with total cash on hand of approximately $144 million. The company expects to offset this with $300 million of future revenue from STX Entertainment alone, combined with $50 million in annual operating synergies.

The STX pipeline includes “Greenland” with Gerard Butler, “Run Rabbit Run” with Elisabeth Moss, “The Godmother” with Jennifer Lopez, “Night Wolf” with Kevin Hart, and “Muscle” with Vin Diesel.

The Eros Now streaming platform has 29.2 million subscribers. Upcoming shows include the second season of “Metro Park,” “Avataar” and “The Show Must Go On.”

The Eros STX board is made up of Kishore Lulla, executive co-chairman; Robert Simonds, co-chairman and CEO; Rishika Singh, co-president; and independent directors Shailesh Rao, Dhirendra Swarup, Nick Stone and Dilip Thakkar, and John Zhao of Hony Capital.

Andrew Warren, formerly STX Entertainment’s chief financial officer, will serve as CFO of the combined outfit. Meanwhile, Rishika Lulla Singh, currently chairman of Eros Digital, and Noah Fogelson, formerly STX Entertainment’s EVP of corporate strategy and general counsel, will each serve as co-presidents.

Prem Parameswaran, formerly chief financial officer of Eros, will serve as head of corporate strategy, while Adam Fogelson will continue to serve as chair of STX Motion Pictures Group, and Pradeep Dwivedi will serve as CEO for India.

The company will continue to be domiciled in the Isle of Man, and headquartered in both Burbank and Mumbai.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.