Independent distributor STX, which is heading toward a Hong Kong IPO, has secured an investment from telecom giant Liberty Global, the company announced Thursday.
Bruce Mann, Liberty’s chief programming officer, will join the STX board concurrent with the investment.
“Having one of the world’s biggest content distributors incentivized in STX’s continued success is gratifying confirmation of our brand and business strategy,” STX Chairman and CEO Robert Simonds said in a statement. “We look forward to benefiting from Bruce and Liberty Global’s counsel to accelerate our plans for expansion.”
“I am so pleased to be part of the team that made this investment in STX,” Mann said in a statement. “In this unprecedented and transformative time in our industry, it is more imperative than ever to align with the best partners and most forward-looking leaders. With Bob, the STX team and its other sophisticated investors, I can’t think of a more proven group to chart the course for the future of entertainment.”
STX, which counts Chinese tech powerhouse Tencent among its investors, recently released Jackie Chan’s “The Foreigner,” a U.S.-China co-production and “A Bad Moms Christmas.” The studio will release Aaron Sorkin’s “Molly’s Game,” starring Jessica Chastain, in December. The company, which is planning an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is also involved television, virtual reality, digital video, music and live entertainment.
Liberty Global, whose chairman is media mogul John Malone, operates in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and counts more than 24 million TV, broadband and landline customers, as well as over 10 million mobile subscribers.
13 Showstopping Media, Entertainment and Tech IPOs Since 2000 (Photos)
Snap Inc.'s recent IPO was the first major public offering from tech and media in a while, but there have been several large ones this century. Viral news behemoth BuzzFeed is set to go public next year.
And while most of them had an initial pop -- not all turned out to be good bets in the long run.
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Snap Inc.
The disappearing-message app that now calls itself a camera company was the picture of success on its first trading day, bringing in $3.4 billion. The stock immediately popped to $24 -- $7 higher than the offering price -- but it's been a rollercoaster ride since, with Snap's shares nearly dipping below their IPO price just two weeks after their high-flying debut.
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Facebook
The social networking behemoth had an inauspicious public debut in May 2012, as the Nasdaq faced technical problems and its stock finished essentially flat from its $38 IPO price, and dropped the next two trading days. Patient investors had the last laugh, though -- Facebook stock currently trades above $140 a share.
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Google
The company currently known as Alphabet went public in 2004 during a fairly flat period for stocks, but investor excitement helped propel its shares past their $85 offering price, closing just above $100. Since then, the search giant has been one of the best performing stocks on the market, spending all of 2017 above $800 a share.
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Alibaba Group
Jack Ma's e-commerce and entertainment conglomerate's shares spiked 38 percent in its first day of trading during what became the biggest IPO ever, but it's been a volatile ride since then. The stock dropped 28 percent in its first trading year before picking up again, spending most of 2017 above the $100 a share mark.
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DreamWorks Animation SKG
The animation studio founded by Hollywood royalty Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg (pictured) and David Geffen was a hot ticket for investors, pricing at a higher-than-expected $28 a share when it went public in October 2004, and giving the company a market cap of about $3 billion. NBCUniversal acquired the studio in August for $3.8 billion.
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LinkedIn
Wall Street couldn't wait to connect with the business-focused social network, more than doubling LinkedIn's share price on its first trading day in May 2011. Microsoft bought LinkedIn for $26.2 million last year.
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Twitter
The social network that now doubles as the unofficial White House press office had an auspicious debut when it went public in 2013, soaring nearly 73 percent higher than its $26/share offering price. But beset by executive turmoil and failures to evolve the product, Wall Street fell out of love with Twitter pretty quickly, and its stock now trades below $15.
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King Digital
The "Candy Crush Saga" company was apparently not a sweet deal for investors, as its stock opened 9 percent below its $22.50 offering price and continued sliding through its first trading day. Activision acquired the game maker last February for $18 a share -- well below its IPO price.
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GoPro
The action-focused personal camera company had a thrilling debut, jumping 31 percent higher than its $24 a share offering price. But like several other recent tech IPOs, those good feelings did not last, as the stock now trades south of $9 a share.
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Groupon
The daily deals site went public at $20 a share in late 2011 at a time when that economic model was still in favor, and bullish sentiment pushed Groupon shares about 31 percent higher its opening day. However, shares fell off a cliff shortly after, and Groupon stock currently trades below $4 a share.
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Line Corp.
The Japanese messaging service, popular in East Asia, saw its shares jump 30% from their $42 offering price when it had its IPO in July 2016. But as new competitors emerged, the shine started to come off of Line, which currently trades for about $37 a share.
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Zynga
The "FarmVille" producer's stock closed its first trading day in 2011 down 5 percent from its $10 offering price, and it's been downhill from there. The company laid off 18 percent of its workforce in 2015, and its stock currently trades at less than $3 a share.
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Demand Media
The home of a family of "content farm" websites like ehow.com went public in 2011, and its shares jumped 33 percent its first day. But as internet users became savvier -- and search engines cracked down on low-quality traffic -- the company suffered, with its stock plummeting 69 percent its first year. Demand rebranded as Leaf Group last year.
Demand Media
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Here are major debuts from this century
Snap Inc.'s recent IPO was the first major public offering from tech and media in a while, but there have been several large ones this century. Viral news behemoth BuzzFeed is set to go public next year.
And while most of them had an initial pop -- not all turned out to be good bets in the long run.
Getty Images
Getty Images
