Legendary Heats Up Bid to Nab Lionsgate

Hollywood’s favorite M&A target that never seems to get gobbled up may just have a serious takeover offer.

Legendary Entertainment 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 quarter 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 library — 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 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.

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. Its most recent theatrical bet, Street Fighter, was released with Paramount Pictures and opened to $50 million globally over the Oct. 16-18 weekend.