MGM has reached a $1 billion deal to take full ownership of the Epix pay TV venture, buying out the stakes held by Viacom and Lionsgate.
Viacom held 49.76% of Epix while Lionsgate owned 31.15% of the company, founded by the three studios in 2008. The deal values Epix at $1.275 billion in total.
The deal calls for Viacom’s Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate to continue licensing new theatrical releases and library titles to Epix’s linear channels and streaming service for a term of at least five to six years. The sale of the company had been expected ever since Lionsgate bought rival pay-TV group Starz last summer.
At that time, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer was clear that it planned to exit the Epix partnership as an owner in an effort to focus on Starz and bring in some extra coin on a non-core asset. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Lionsgate said its share of the sale would be about $397.2 million.
