Chris Taylor Stays On As Hasbro Spins Off eOne Music

By FYI Staff

Hasbro is selling off Entertainment One’s music division to Blackstone investments for US$385M in a cash deal.

The American multinational conglomerate with toy, board game, and media assets Hasbro, Inc. says the transaction has been approved by the board of Directors of Hasbro and Entertainment One Canada Limited. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals.

Blackstone also owns SESAC, the US licensing and collection society which It purchased for US$1B in 2017.  

Hasbro purchased Entertainment One (eOne) in 2019 for US$3.8B.

After the closing of the transaction, eOne Music will operate as a separate business unit headed by its current Global President, Chris Taylor, and will focus on building “a creator-first music brand with global scale and expertise,” according to a company statement.

In December 2019, Hasbro acquired the LSE-listed Canadian corporation known as Entertainment One Ltd. from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), The Capital Group Companies, Inc., other shareholders in an all-cash transaction.

As part of the transaction, Hasbro indirectly acquired the economic interests in Entertainment One Canada Limited, a Canadian corporation. The transaction was structured to ensure that eOne’s Canadian operations continued to meet applicable Canadian control regulatory requirements. Specifically, regulatory requirements pertaining to TV and film production interests. Entertainment One Ltd. currently owns 100% of the economic interests of Entertainment One Canada Ltd., and 25% of the voting rights with the remaining 75% held by three independent directors who are Canadian citizens.

Assets owned by eOne Music include the Death Row Records catalogue, Dualtone Music Group, and Last Gang music; in addition to production music house Audio Network, which eOne acquired for approximately $215m in April 2019.

The eOne Music catalogue includes albums by various Canadian acts including BadBadNotGood, Arkells, Death From Above 1979, Crystal Castles, Dragonette, Rhye, Purity Ring, Lights, Holy Fuck, Kathleen Edwards, Purity Ring, Ryan Hemsworth, and Strumbellas.