Hollywood’s favorite M&A target that never seems to get gobbled up may just have a serious takeover offer.
Legendary has submitted an acquisition offer for Lionsgate, per a Bloomberg report. Both companies declined to comment on the blind-sourced item, which sent Lionsgate shares up double digits. The report arrives just weeks before the company is set to disclose quarterly earnings on Nov. 5.
The Jon Feltheimer-run Lionsgate has been here, many times before. But since its formal separation from Starz in 2025, the company is even more of a pure play option at the M&A buffet. It boasts a massive studio library — a 20,000-title film and TV portfolio — and is home to active franchise IP like John Wick, Hunger Games as well as blue-chip library brands for live experiences and merchandising like Twilight, Oscar best picture winner La La Land and Dirty Dancing. (Speaking of the 1987 Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey feature, the movie was the “biggest individual contributor” revenue-wise for Lionsgate’s library in its latest quarter, Feltheimer said in August.)
The Santa Monica-based company has about 1,000 employees, per its last 10-K regulatory filing, following its formal spinoff from Starz, which is forging its own future under chief Jeffrey Hirsch as a mid-sized streaming TV player in the subscription business fueled by titles like Outlander and Power (which Lionsgate produces).
After the billion-dollar grosser Michael early this year, the studio has a big swing up ahead with The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which is launching in mid-November, and recently wrapped production on the Noah Centineo-starring reboot John Rambo, as the studio attempts to breath life into the franchise. Speaking of revivals, the studio also has Mel Gibson’s two-part epic The Resurrection of the Christ set for next year.
Another key asset that sometimes flys under the radar: Lionsgate owns 3 Arts Entertainment, a management-production player that’s been focused on growth in the sports and creator representation space.
Legendary, run by CEO Joshua Grode, is now owned by private equity giant Apollo Global Management since a 2024 buyout of China-based Dalian Wanda. At the time of that deal, Grode had hinted to The Hollywood Reporter that dealmaking was ahead for the company behind Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong, Minecraft and other franchises in its Apollo chapter. Its most recent theatrical bet, Street Fighter, was released with Paramount Pictures and opened to $50 million globally over the Oct. 16-18 weekend.
Legendary is also readying its biggest prestige theatrical title, Dune: Part Three, with Warner Bros. this December, setting up a day of clash with Disney and Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday.