Will Lionsgate – a long-rumored acquisition target – find a buyer this time around? Production company Legendary Entertainment has relaunched its bid to acquire Lionsgate, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Lionsgate shares jumped more than 15% on Tuesday following the report, pushing the company’s market capitalization to $3.6 billion. Legendary has submitted a buyout offer for Lionsgate, according to Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources; the report does not specify the terms of the agreement. A merger with Lionsgate could allow Legendary to self-distribute its films.
Representatives for Legendary and Lionsgate declined to comment.
Other companies that have expressed interest in Lionsgate but have not submitted formal buyout offers include Banijay and Mediawan. Banijay has just merged with British company All3Media, now officially known as Banijay Entertainment.
Legendary, the production company behind films like the “Dune” franchise and “A Minecraft Movie,” was also last year considering a deal to acquire Lionsgate, whose franchises include John Wick, The Hunger Games and Saw. Legendary approached a potential partnership with Lionsgate following the spinoff of Starz, which officially separated from Lionsgate in May 2025. Lionsgate Studios, comprising its television and film production and distribution divisions and a content library of more than 20,000 titles, has been a separately traded entity since then.
For the June 2026 quarter, Lionsgate saw its overall revenue increase by 48% and its cinema segment recorded revenue of $105 million for the period. This was driven by the Michael Jackson biopic “Michael,” which is the studio’s biggest film at the box office to date and the first biopic to surpass $1 billion in theatrical release. Quarterly net loss attributable to Lionsgate shareholders was $28.8 million, an improvement from a net loss of $94 million a year earlier, as the television division posted declines in revenue and profit.
As of June 30, Lionsgate had $425.8 million in cash and equivalents and total debt of $1.9 billion.
Meanwhile, in 2024, Legendary bought Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group’s stake in the company. The deal left legendary private equity firm Apollo Global Management in control of the company. Apollo acquired a stake in Legendary in 2022 for $760 million.
Lionsgate is expected to release its financial results for its second quarter of fiscal 2027 (the quarter ended September 30, 2026) after the market close on Thursday, November 5.
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