Hasbro puts Entertainment One film and TV business up for sale, retains Peppa Pig

Hasbro will increase investment in top brands such as Peppa Pig

US-based toy giant Hasbro has initiated a process to sell most of Entertainment One (eOne) less than three years after it acquired the company for around US$4bn.

The company today said that it is looking to sell “part” of eOne’s TV and film business, meaning it will retain mega-franchise Peppa Pig.

The decision to sell eOne comes as Hasbro focuses on its core preschool business and exits various lines of business in which eOne is involved, including live-action, adult-focused scripted programming.

Assets up for sale include eOne’s film and TV division, including its 6,500-title content library, as well as the non-Hasbro branded film and scripted TV business. Hasbro will also look to sell the Canadian-based film and TV business, in addition to the unscripted division.

With the sale of these eOne assets, Hasbro said it will maintain the capability to develop and produce animation, digital shorts, scripted TV and theatrical films for audiences related to core Hasbro IP.

It remains unclear whether the entirety of eOne’s business could be acquired by a single buyer, or whether its various businesses will be acquired in pieces, although the latter seems more likely.

The decision to sell eOne comes after Hasbro conducted a nine-month strategic review, which concluded in early October, with Hasbro deciding to “exit non-core businesses.”

“Following our recent Investor Day where we introduced our new branded entertainment strategy, Blueprint 2.0, we received inbound interest from several parties for the part of the eOne television and film business that, while valuable, is not core to our go-forward strategy. This interest informed our decision to explore a sale process,” said Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks on Thursday.

“The acquisition of eOne delivered fantastic talent, top-tier production and deal-making capability and beloved brands with strong toyetic potential including Peppa Pig. We will retain these terrific capabilities while exploring the best way to maximise the value of the eOne TV and film business for the benefit of our shareholders.”

Hasbro said it plans to significantly increase strategic investment in key brands such as Peppa Pig, Transformers, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, My Little Pony, Power Rangers and Play-Doh, in addition to Monopoly and Clue.

With the proposed sale, Hasbro said it will continue to have “significant” development, production and financing capabilities to support its core brands across film, TV, animation and digital shorts.

JP Morgan and Centerview Partners have been retained to assist with the sale process. Hasbro added that this will take several months and there is no guarantee it will result in a sale.

In the meantime, Hasbro’s entertainment team will continue to operate under the eOne production mark.