SOFTBANK AND LEGENDARY TO FORM STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
SoftBank to Invest $250 Million in Legendary Companies Will Form Joint Venture to Maximize Value of Legendary's Intellectual Property and Premium Content Worldwide
Tokyo, Japan, October 3, and Burbank, CA, October 2, 2014 — SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) and Legendary Entertainment (“Legendary”) today announced a definitive agreement under which SoftBank will invest $250 million in Legendary. The two companies will also form a joint venture to exploit Legendary's intellectual property rights, including in television, digital, licensing and merchandising and other ancillary lines, across various “over-the-top”/mobile platforms with a particular focus on the burgeoning China and India markets.
Nikesh Arora, Vice Chairman of SoftBank and CEO of SoftBank Internet and Media, Inc. (“SIMI”) said, “Our goal at SIMI is to leverage SoftBank's international platform and network of Internet and media partners to accelerate content creators' digital strategies and extend their global reach. Legendary is already a content powerhouse and we are very excited to make this investment and help them bring their incredibly successful film franchises and other exciting new media content to an even larger global audience.”
Legendary's Chairman and CEO, Thomas Tull, said “Masayoshi Son has built SoftBank into one of the world's most respected companies. With the arrival of Nikesh and the launch of SIMI, they have a great opportunity to extend their reach into media and entertainment. We are excited to be one of SIMI's first partners and look forward to working together to deliver the next phase of Legendary's growth.”
SoftBank's investment is expected to close in October 2014, subject to certain conditions. Nikesh Arora will be appointed to Legendary's Board of Directors as part of this investment.
The Raine Group LLC acted as financial advisor and Morrison & Foerster LLP acted as legal advisor to SoftBank. Martin Willhite, COO & General Counsel represented Legendary and O'Melveny & Myers LLP acted as outside legal advisor.
About SoftBank Corp.
SoftBank Corp. (TYO:9984) is a pure holding company with more than 1,300 Group subsidiaries and affiliates that offer a comprehensive range of mobile communications, fixed-line communications and Internet services. With Sprint joining in July 2013, the SoftBank Group became a leading global carrier that now has over 100 million subscribers. Maximizing synergies across its Group companies worldwide, SoftBank aspires to realize lifestyle innovation through IT. SoftBank is also encouraging the adoption of clean and safe energy through its business activities. To learn more, please visit: http://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/
About Legendary Entertainment
Legendary Entertainment is a leading media company with film (Legendary Pictures), television and digital (Legendary Television and Digital Media) and comics (Legendary Comics) divisions dedicated to owning, producing and delivering content to mainstream audiences with a targeted focus on the powerful fandom demographic. Through complete or joint ownership, Legendary has built a library of marquee media properties and has established itself as a trusted brand which consistently delivers high-quality, commercial entertainment including some of the world's most popular intellectual property. In aggregate, Legendary Pictures-associated productions have realized grosses of more than $9 billion worldwide at the box office. To learn more visit: www.legendary.com
-
Releases, announcements, presentations and other information available from this page and elsewhere on this website were prepared based on information available and views held at the time of preparation and speak only as of the respective dates on which they are filed or used by SoftBank Group Corp. or the applicable group company, as the case may be. Such information is subject to change and may become out-of-date. Such information may also contain forward-looking statements which are by their nature subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and future developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Please read legal notices in its entirety prior to viewing any information available on this website.
