Feb 12, 2020 - Economy

"Parasite" studio CJ Entertainment buys into Hollywood

Dan Primack

People posing for a photo at a movie premiere. — CEO of Skydance Media David Ellison (left) with Terminator actors on Oct. 23, 2019 in Beijing, China. Photo: VCG/VCG via Getty Images

Skydance Media, a Hollywood film studio whose franchises include Mission Impossible and Terminator, raised $275 million in new equity funding at around a $2.3 billion valuation. RedBird Capital Partners led, and was joined by South Korea's CJ Entertainment and return backer Tencent.

Why it matters: This comes just days after CJ Entertainment's Parasite became the first foreign-language film to win the Academy Award for best picture, and could help Skydance access a deep library of IP that hasn't yet been introduced to U.S. audiences.

The bottom line:

"I've looked at this space for the past 25 years and was uncomfortable with it, but the real game-changer is subscription video-on-demand... The model is phenomenal for financial investors because you can usually get costs back the day you deliver to an Amazon or Netflix, and then earn a contractual return over the next two to four quarters."

— Gerry Cardinale, RedBird Capital Partners

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"Parasite" studio CJ Entertainment buys into Hollywood

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