Aug 23, 2019 - Economy & Business

Hasbro agrees to buy Peppa Pig studio Entertainment One for $4 billion

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

Peppa Pig characters. Photo: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images

Hasbro agreed to buy Entertainment One, the studio behind children's TV show "Peppa Pig," for around $4 billion.

Why it matters: This one could become a real muddy puddle. Hasbro's £5.60 per share represents a 26% premium to Thursday's closing price, but shares subsequently climbed even higher — with some investors and analysts expecting that a content company will try to top the toymaker.

  • Entertainment One snorted at a £1 billion takeover offer in 2016 from British broadcaster ITV.

The bottom line: Hasbro has long desired to own an entertainment company, but to date has settled for licensing popular IP. They did try to work out a deal with Dreamworks in 2014. The question now is if this deal is mostly about bringing a popular international brand in-house, or also about standing up a major TV and film production business.

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