eOne Confirms Talks To Purchase Alliance

Entertainment One confirmed today that the distributor has held negotiations about purchasing Alliance Films, as Deadline reported last week from the Cannes Film Festival. Both companies had remained publicly mum about the negotiations but eOne said today it wanted to comment because of market speculation, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail. Both companies are Canadian-based. Alliance is owned by Goldman Sachs. 'The board confirms it has held discussions with the shareholders of Alliance Films but there can be no certainty this will lead to a transaction,' eOne said in statement. 'The company would only undertake such a transaction on acceptable terms, and on the basis that the directors believe it would be financially and strategically value enhancing for the company and its shareholders.' If a deal were to come to pass, eEon said it would finance the transaction with a combination of debt and equity.

The statement about Alliance came as eOne reported earnings for last fiscal year. The company said profit before taxes increased 103% to $37 million with revenue up 7% to $809 million. Much of the revenue was from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, to which it owns Canadian rights. Purchasing Alliance would give eOne Canadian rights to 11,000 titles including The Hunger Games. Alliance also owns 50% of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV franchise, which Goldman doesn't intend to include in the deal.