Lionsgate acquires 3 Arts majority

Long-running comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is produced by 3 Arts

US studio Lionsgate Television has acquired a majority stake in LA-based prodco 3 Arts Entertainment, the firm behind 30 Rock and a host of other comedy hits.

Comedy specialist and management firm 3 Arts has a slate that includes series such as FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, HBO’s Silicon Valley and Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which recently returned to the streamer for its fourth season.

The company was founded in 1991 by Erwin Stoff, Howard Klein and Michael Rotenberg, who lead the firm alongside Molly Madden, Dave Becky, David Miner and Nick Frenkel.

3 Arts will continue to operate under the leadership of its partners with an operating board following the Lionsgate deal.

Effective immediately, the deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by television group chief operating officer Laura Kennedy.

Jon Feltheimer, CEO of Lionsgate, said he was pleased to be partnering with company that “shares our entrepreneurial culture and vision for the future.”

As well as being a film and television producer, 3 Arts is also a talent-management agency, with a range of on- and off-screen talent on its books.

3 Arts’ management team said in a statement: “Every day our clients are asking about the changing landscape, and this venture will create enormous opportunities to harness Lionsgate’s areas of expertise to give clients a competitive edge.”

The deal follows Lionsgate’s recent production agreement with Latino specialist 3Pas Studios to create Spanish- and English-language series for the US studio’s television group.