Legendary Offers to Acquire Lionsgate in 3.5 Billion Dollar Deal

Lionsgate shares surged on October 20, 2026, after Bloomberg reported that Legendary Entertainment had submitted an offer to acquire the Hollywood studio. The proposed transaction would give Legendary control of Lionsgate's film franchises, including John Wick, Twilight, and The Hunger Games, as the company pursues a deal following Lionsgate's separation from Starz Entertainment.

According to Bloomberg, Lionsgate is valued at approximately $3.5 billion and carries $1.9 billion in debt. MarketScreener reported that the stock rose 13.70% to $12.08, based on a real-time estimate from Cboe BZX at 1:44:30 p.m. EDT on October 20.

The stock's year-to-date gain reached 32.29%, while its five-day increase stood at 8.62%, according to MarketScreener's market data. The latest rally followed renewed acquisition interest from Legendary, which is backed by Apollo Global Management.

Legendary first expressed interest in buying Lionsgate during the summer, after Lionsgate completed its separation from Starz Entertainment. The renewed approach places the production company at the center of a potential transaction involving one of Hollywood's established film studios.

Other potential buyers previously linked to Lionsgate included Banijay Group, a television production company, and France's Bollore Group. According to the Bloomberg report summarized by TradingView, Lionsgate had shown interest in finding a buyer and negotiations had taken place, but neither Banijay nor Bollore submitted a formal offer.

Legendary has since emerged as the leading potential acquirer, according to Bloomberg's reporting. The reported offer marks a renewed step toward a possible deal, although the supplied reports do not disclose its financial terms beyond Lionsgate's approximate valuation and debt.

An acquisition would give Legendary access to several recognizable entertainment properties. Lionsgate's portfolio includes the John Wick, Twilight, and The Hunger Games franchises, which would become part of Legendary's holdings if the transaction were completed.

As of the October 20 reports, Legendary's offer had been reported, but the available information did not confirm that Lionsgate had accepted it or that a definitive acquisition agreement had been reached.