Legendary Entertainment Bids to Take Over Lionsgate, Sending Shares Up

Production company Legendary Entertainment has revived its bid to acquire Lionsgate. Shares of Lionsgate jumped more than 15 percent on Tuesday following a Bloomberg report on the takeover offer, which cited anonymous sources. The report did not reveal the price tag of the proposal. Representatives for both Legendary and Lionsgate declined to comment.

Background

Other companies like Banijay and Mediawan have shown interest in Lionsgate in the past without submitting formal takeover offers. Legendary previously explored a partnership with Lionsgate Studios last year following the May 2025 split-off of Starz. Lionsgate Studios now trades separately and includes television and film production divisions along with a content library of over 20,000 titles.

Financials

Lionsgate reported a 48 percent jump in overall revenue for the June 2026 quarter, driven by the Michael Jackson biopic "Michael," which became the studio's biggest box office hit and the first biopic to cross $1 billion globally. The movie segment posted income of $105 million for the period, while the net loss attributable to shareholders narrowed to $28.8 million compared to $94 million a year earlier, despite a drop in television division revenue and profit.

Context

Corporate takeovers in the entertainment industry often happen when large production companies look to expand their content libraries and self-distribute films more effectively. Legendary previously bought out Dalian Wanda Group's stake in 2024, leaving it alongside private-equity firm Apollo Global Management in control of the company.