Legendary Entertainment, one of Hollywood's leading entertainment companies, has closed $275 million in new financing from investors including Breyer Capital, Accel Partners, Peter Thiel and Gordy Crawford, the company announced on Wednesday.
The financing is coming in two parts, an equity component consisting of $128 million in new financing from a collection of new and existing investors, and $150 million in debt financing arranged by JPMorgan, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Canada and UBS, among others.
The company will use the financing to retire and refinance debt incurred in connection with its 2010 recapitalization.
Legendary, founded and led by CEO Thomas Tull, has co-financed some of the most successful movies in recent Hollywood history, including "The Dark Knight" and "The Hangover" 1 and 2.
The company has recently moved into original productions, developing a film adaptation of the interactive video game "Warcraft," and has opened an Asian outpost.
Here's the full news release:
LEGENDARY ENTERTAINMENT CLOSES $275 MILLION OF NEW EQUITY AND DEBT FINANCING LED BY STRATEGIC INVESTORS
Equity Investors include Accel Partners, Gordy Crawford, IDG Capital Partners, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Thiel Capital LLC and Tomorrow Ventures, LLC
Burbank, CA, April 04, 2012– Legendary Entertainment has completed separate equity and debt financing deals totaling approximately $275 million in aggregate proceeds. The equity component consists of $128 million in new financing from a collection of new and existing investors. Existing Legendary equity investors who participated in this round include Jim Breyer and Breyer Capital and Accel Partners, IDG Capital Partners, and Gordy Crawford. New investors in Legendary include Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital LLC, and Eric Schmidt’s Tomorrow Ventures, LLC. Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as sole agent to Legendary in the equity financing.
Additionally, Legendary simultaneously closed a new $150 million round of debt financing structured and arranged by JPMorgan, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Canada and UBS who all served as co-leads and, Goldman Sachs Lending Partners LLC also participated in the bank financing.
Legendary will use the proceeds of these transactions to retire and refinance debt incurred in connection with Legendary’s 2010 recapitalization, more than 18 months prior to its scheduled maturity. Plans for the monies also include adding investment and working capital as Legendary readies projects across its filmed entertainment, publishing and television business units.
Separately Legendary East expects to announce its financial and distribution arrangements later this year. On December 31, 2011, the date pre-arranged by Legendary and its partners, Legendary East allowed its previously contemplated business structure to lapse, enabling it to explore relationships with new distribution and financial partners.
