PAWTUCKET – Hasbro Inc. announced Thursday it is selling part of its film and TV production and distribution unit, Entertainment One.
“Following our recent Investor Day where we introduced our new branded entertainment strategy, Blueprint 2.0, we received inbound interest from several parties for the part of the eOne television and film business that, while valuable, is not core to our go-forward strategy. This interest informed our decision to explore a sale process,” said Chris Cocks, Hasbro’s CEO.
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Hasbro unveiled the corporate strategy Blueprint 2.0 on Oct. 4 when it cut its full-year revenue forecast. The initiative focuses investment on its most-valuable franchises across toys, games, entertainment and licensing. The toy company plans to significantly increase strategic investment in key brands, with a focus on gaming, direct to consumer, franchise brands and licensing. Priority brands for merchandise investment include Peppa Pig, Transformers, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and My Little Pony.
J.P. Morgan and Centerview Partners have been retained to assist Hasbro in the sale, which the company expects to take several months. Hasbro’s entertainment team will continue to operate under the eOne production mark.
Hasbro bought Entertainment One for about $4 billion in 2019 to expand into the infant and preschool market by gaining access to popular TV shows such as “Peppa Pig” and “PJ Masks.”
On Aug. 17, Darren Throop, CEO and president of the Entertainment One division, announced he would step down at the end of the year when his contract expires. Throop has been with eOne for 20 years and played a lead role when Hasbro acquired the entertainment company.
Hasbro last month reported a $129.2 million profit, or 93 cents per share, in the third quarter, down 49% from the same period last year. Stripping out one-time costs and amortization costs, earnings were $1.42 per share, well short of the $1.53 Wall Street had expected, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.
Revenue for the toymaker fell to $1.68 billion, down 15% from last year’s third quarter, and Hasbro said the strong dollar knocked 3% off of quarterly revenue, or almost $54 million.
The company was also hit by a 26% decline in revenue from film and TV when compared with last year at this time, which benefited from the streaming release of the films “Come from Away” and “Finch.”
On June 8, Hasbro shareholders reelected all of the company’s 13 directors to its board, rejecting a slate of three nominees from activist investor Alta Fox Capital Management, which had waged a contentious, monthslong proxy battle for more influence over the company.
(Update: Story updated to clarify Hasbro only selling part of Entertainment One division, not entire division)
