Entertainment One

Hahaha, one!

Entertainment One, or eOne, is a multinational film, television, music, and home video producer and distributor headquartered in Canada. They were the distributor of Hasbro media content from 2020 to 2023. They are also famous for producing Peppa Pig, Ricky Zoom and PJ Masks. They are now known as Lionsgate Canada.

History

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Entertainment One has its origins in 1970 as Records on Wheels and the music retail chain CD Plus. CD Plus acquired Records on Wheels and merged to become ROW Entertainment.<ref>The Globe and Mail: How the CEO of Canada's eOne built a global entertainment giant (archived)</ref> Soon, the company became Entertainment One in 2007.<ref>The Globe and Mail: Entertainment One accepts Marwyn takeover (archived)</ref>

In 2011, eOne acquired Alliance Films, absorbing the company. This gave them the rights to the Alliance Atlantis trademarks and fanfare, with the rest of that company's businesses having been previously sold off.<ref>The Guardian: Entertainment One buys Alliance Films (archived)</ref>

On August 22, 2019, Hasbro announced that they reached an agreement to acquire eOne for US$4 billion. eOne CEO Darren Throop cited that its goals to "unlock the power and value of creativity" were "[aligned] with Hasbro's corporate objectives", and would be enhanced by access to Hasbro's properties and merchandising capabilities.<ref>Variety: Hasbro Acquires Entertainment One in $4 Billion All-Cash Deal</ref> The deal was completed on December 30<ref>eOne Press Release</ref>. This deal led to the absorption of Allspark<ref>Kidscreen: eOne takes the reins on Hasbro’s content efforts</ref>, with eOne's logo replacing Allspark's starting with Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Earthrise. Their first project since becoming a Hasbro subsidiary is Transformers One.<ref>Deadline: Animated ‘Transformers’ Prequel Activated; ‘Toy Story 4’s Josh Cooley To Direct For Hasbro/eOne & Paramount</ref>

On November 17, 2022, Hasbro announced that they intend to sell the film and television assets of eOne to focus on their brands as they look to become a digital games giant. Hasbro's branded programming, including Transformers and Peppa Pig, would not be included in the transaction.<ref>The Hollywood Reporter: Hasbro Puts Entertainment One Film, TV Unit Up for Sale</ref> On August 3, 2023, Hasbro confirmed they would be selling eOne, except the Family Brands division, to [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Lionsgate|{{#if:||Lionsgate}}]] for $500 million.<ref>Deadline: Hasbro Confirms Sale Of eOne To Lionsgate For $500M</ref> Thirteen days later, a successor for Entertainment One under Hasbro's ownership was formed as Hasbro Entertainment.<ref>Variety: Hasbro Launches Entertainment Division Led by eOne Executives Olivier Dumont, Zev Foreman, Gabriel Marano</ref> The deal with Lionsgate was finalized on December 27.<ref>The Hollywood Reporter: Lionsgate Closes Entertainment One Merger</ref> Later on June 7, 2024, it rebranded to Lionsgate Canada.<ref>Playback: Entertainment One rebrands to Lionsgate Canada</ref>

References

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