Lionsgate shares spike as Legendary Entertainment revives takeover talks

Lionsgate Studios' shares soared by over 16% following Bloomberg News' report that Legendary Entertainment had restarted talks to acquire the film and television studio, submitting a takeover offer. Legendary, known for producing franchises like Dune and Minecraft, had previously shown interest in bidding for Lionsgate last year, as reported by Bloomberg.

The two companies have reportedly had intermittent discussions about a potential deal, sources close to the situation said, requesting anonymity due to the confidential nature of the information. While neither Legendary, Lionsgate, nor its parent company Apollo Global Management provided a comment, an acquisition would grant Legendary access to Lionsgate's vast film and television library, including The Hunger Games and John Wick, which generates about $1 billion in annual revenue. Additionally, the deal would provide Legendary with its own theatrical distribution network.