Lionsgate sells off Maple

Mad Men studio Lionsgate Entertainment has confirmed plans to sell off its Maple Pictures unit to Alliance Films for C$38.5m (US$39.2m).

The mini-major is offloading the Toronto-based distributor as part of efforts to sell non-core assets and replenish the corporate accounts drained by its recent boardroom war with investor Carl Icahn.

Pending regulatory approval, Alliance gets the Maple library, its five-year exclusive output deal with Lionsgate and its long-term agreement with the studio for distribution of its library in Canada.

Alliance also gets Maple co-founders and co-presidents Brad Pelman and Laurie May. The remaining 30 to 40 staff will be laid off, C21 understands.

Maple was spun out of Lionsgate in 2005 and mainly handles theatrical, TV and on-demand/digital distribution in Canada for the border-straddling studio, although it has picked up some titles on its own. The Maple catalogue includes Mad Men, Nurse Jackie and Weeds.

“This deal also allows us to sharpen our focus on our core assets that are critical to our growth trajectory, and it is an important step in the ongoing process of simplifying our business,” said Lionsgate president and co-chief operating officer Steve Beeks.