Hasbro is seeking a buyer for most of EOne, hire advisers

HASBRO, which has been weighing options for its Entertainment One (EOne) media division, has decided to put most of the business up for sale.

The maker of GI Joe action figures and Transformers toys has appointed JPMorgan Chase and Centerview Partners to steer the process after receiving takeover interest from potential bidders, according to a statement on Thursday (Nov 17).

The assets Hasbro is selling generated sales of close to US$1 billion last year, or about 16 per cent of the company’s total, Bloomberg reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter. They include virtually all of the EOne businesses geared to adults, including film and TV production and a library of about 6,500 titles. Those include Naked and Afraid and a distribution arm for popular shows such as The Walking Dead.

Hasbro said it intends to retain EOne assets that it considers crucial to its ambitions in entertainment, including the Peppa Pig children’s brand. Hasbro will also retain a team of EOne employees to work on animation, short digital films, as well as feature-length movies and TV series.

Shares of Hasbro fell less than 1 per cent to US$55.70 at 9.32 am in New York.

In August, Bloomberg reported that Hasbro was considering a sale or restructuring of EOne, which it acquired for about US$4 billion in 2019. The entire business generated US$1.15 billion in sales last year.

Chief executive officer Chris Cocks said at an investor event in October that the company will roughly triple its spending on media content based on its brands over the next three years. Thoroughbreds in Hasbro’s stable include the Dungeons & Dragons board games, which the company has adapted into Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, a film that will be released in March.

Last year, the company sold EOne’s music business to private equity firm Blackstone for US$385 million. BLOOMBERG