A package of shares in Lionsgate, the U.S.-based studios group that owns the pay channel Starz, have been acquired by Liberty Strategic Capital, the Washington, D.C.-based firm that invests in technology companies. The investment, amounting to about $30.8 million, makes the Steven Mnuchin-led company acquire 5.5 percent of the studios.
Who is Steven Mnuchin? A former U.S. Treasury secretary under the Trump administration, before public office he was a prominent film producer, linked to such titles as Wonder Woman, Mad Max: Fury Road and The Conjuring 2.
At the helm of Liberty Strategic Capital, Mnuchin is pursuing plans to create a spin-off of Lionsgate’s studio operations, which is in the process of splitting from Starz. The separation of the two entities, seven years after the Starz acquisition, would leave Lionsgate in charge of the studios, while the media networks business, which mainly includes pay TV and streaming operations, would remain with Starz.
The already announced split would be delayed among other things by Lionsgate’s recent acquisition of Canadian multinational Entertainment One, which is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.
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