Japanese telecoms group Softbank is injecting US$250m in California-based media production company Legendary Entertainment. The two companies will also enter a joint venture agreement to maximise Legendary’s intellectual property rights, including in…
Japanese telecoms group Softbank is injecting US$250m in California-based media production company Legendary Entertainment.
The two companies will also enter a joint venture agreement to maximise Legendary’s intellectual property rights, including in television, digital, licensing and merchandising across various over-the-top/mobile platforms with a particular focus on China and India.
The investment is expected to close in October, subject to certain conditions, the Japanese company said.
Further to the agreement, Nikesh Arora, the newly-appointed CEO of Softbank Internet and Media (SIMI), will join Legendary’s board of directors.
Commenting on the deal, he said: “Our goal at SIMI is to leverage Softbank’s international platform and network of internet and media partners to accelerate content creators’ digital strategies and extend their global reach.
“Legendary is already a content powerhouse and we are very excited to make this investment and help them bring their incredibly successful film franchises and other exciting new media content to an even larger global audience.”
Softbank hired The Raine Group as financial adviser, while Morrison & Foerster acted as its legal adviser. Martin Willhite, Legendary’s COO and general counsel represented the US company and O’Melveny & Myers acted as outside legal adviser.
Ever since Softbank abandoned plans to merge its US mobile unit Sprint with rival T-Mobile US a few months ago, the Japanese group has been associated with a number of potential targets.
Last week, media reports suggested that the company, which is controlled by CEO Masayoshi Son, was negotiating a US$3.4bn acquisition of US animation studio DreamWorks Animation. Separate reports later suggested that the deal talks had cooled.
Other rumoured targets have included Carlos Slim’s America Movil, Ricardo Salinas’ Iusacell and British operator Vodafone.