eOne buys Phase 4 in $24.8m deal

Transatlantic producer and distributor Entertainment One (eOne) has acquired Phase 4 Films to reinforce its VoD, digital and home entertainment operations in the US.

Toronto-based Phase 4 was founded by president and CEO Berry Meyerowitz in 2009 and distributes TV, film and special interest content across all media in the North American market.

The C$27m (US$24.8m) deal, made up of C$19.3m in cash and the rest in shares, will allow eOne to push further into the US using the firm’s network of partners, as well as increase its family- and children-skewing efforts through the acquisition of Phase 4 kids’ label Kaboom! Entertainment.

As part of the wider takeover, Meyerowitz will become president of eOne’s US film and distribution business, with exec VP of finance and operations Sean Monson and exec VP of sales and marketing David Richardson agreeing long-term contracts to remain with eOne.

Patrice Théroux, who oversees eOne’s global film business, said the agreement would allow the company to “greatly extend it abilities in the US.”

eOne bolstered its digital interests by investing in Emmy-winning Canadian interactive agency Secret Location last week, while Meyerowitz’s appointment comes a month after it was revealed that eOne’s film president David Reckziegel was leaving the firm.