Dune producer Legendary Entertainment has secured an $800 million five-year credit facility led by J.P. Morgan, replacing an existing agreement with “improved and market-leading terms” that reflect its “profitability and success in executing its business plan,’ the company said.
Led by CEO Josh Grode, Legendary develops, produces, distributes and finances films and TV content across platforms and is growing in comic books, VR, licensing and merchandising. Deadline reported Monday that it is one of four suitors circling eOne as Hasbro prepares to sell a majority stake in the indie film and TV studio.
“We are pleased to extend our relationship with J.P. Morgan as we continue to grow our global film and TV pipeline and monetize our IP across multiple platforms. The success of our film and television productions from our creative team led by Mary Parent reflects our intentional strategy of creating compelling content that resonates with audiences around the world,” Grode said, referring to Legendary vice chair, worldwide production. “We look forward to leveraging our relationship to further build upon a proven track record of critical and commercial success.”
According to David Shaheen, entertainment industries head at J.P. Morgan’s corporate banking group, Legendary “has built a premier company and has positioned itself as a true market leader.”
“We are very pleased to have executed a highly successful transaction with broad support from the entertainment banking community,” he said.
Legendary separately closed a $760 million equity investment from Apollo Private Equity Funds in early 2022, putting more M&A opportunities, like eOne, on the table.
Since 2018 under new management, Legendary has released a wide slate of major titles from Dune and Enola Homes (and its sequel) to Godzilla vs. Kong. It recently announced TV series Drops of God, an international series based on an anime property, which was picked up by Apple TV+, and is in production on a Monsterverse live-action series for Apple TV+.
Upcoming titles include Bert Kreischer’s The Machine, Dune: Part Two, new entries in the Godzilla/Kong and Detective Pikachu franchises, as well as a film based on the record-breaking Street Fighter game, which Legendary recently acquired the rights to adapt.