The investment company run by Steve Mnuchin, the Hollywood producer who was treasury secretary during Trump’s first term, has amassed a bigger stake in Lionsgate Studios, the company behind such film franchises as John Wick and the Hunger Games.
In a press release Thursday, Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital announced that it acquired an aggregate of 3.3 million additional common shares of Lionsgate Studios. According to the company, Liberty Strategic Capital now exercises control over an aggregate of 35.99 million common shares, representing approximately 12.6% of Lionsgate Studios’ issued and outstanding common shares. Previously, Liberty Strategic Capital held 9.5%, per an SEC filing on May 6.
The acquisition of the additional Lionsgate Studios shares “was made for investment purposes,” according to Liberty Strategic Capital. The investment firm said it “intends to review such investment in Lionsgate Studios on a continuing basis and, depending on Lionsgate Studios’ performance and other market conditions, increase or decrease its investment position.”
Mnuchin’s increased holding in Lionsgate Studios comes a few weeks after it formally separated from the Starz business, effective May 7. Lionsgate Studios, comprising its TV and film production and distribution divisions and a content library with 20,000-plus titles, merged last year with Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and became a separately traded entity (with 87.3% of the total shares of Lionsgate Studios held by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.). With the separation of Lionsgate Studios and Starz, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. shareholders received shares in each of Lionsgate Studios and Starz.
The other major holder of Lionsgate Studios shares is Mark H. Rachesky, founder and president of MHR Fund Management. Rachesky owns, through the MHR Funds, 37.65 million common shares of Lionsgate Studios which as of May 9 represented 13.18% of the issued and outstanding common shares. In addition, Rachesky, through MHRC, MHRC II, Institutional Advisors III, Institutional Advisors IV and MHR Holdings, beneficially owns 37.87 million common shares, which represented 13.25% of the issued and outstanding common shares as of May 9.
In addition, John Malone’s Liberty Global owned about 7 million Lionsgate Studios shares as of May 6 (representing 2.5% of the total at the time).
Last year, Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital led an investor group that invested $1 billion into struggling New York Community Bancorp (which has since changed its name to Flagstar Financial). Mnuchin joined the company’s board and currently serves as the lead independent director of Flagstar.
Mnuchin also currently serves on the boards of directors of Liberty Strategic Capital portfolio companies Cybereason, Satellogic and Zimperium.
variety.com
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