News

STX Entertainment, as has long been suggested would be the case, has filed for an IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange. If accepted, the proposal would make Bob Simonds’ burgeoning studio the first U.S.-based entertainment company to go public on the Hong Kong exchange.

The company was valued at $1.5B last year, however, it has been reported previously that the company could be valued as high as $3.5B after the IPO. Since its inception, STX has been modeling itself to become a major entertainment company along the lines of Viacom and this is yet another step in the path to achieve that goal.

STX Entertainment CEO Simonds has been hinting that they might go public for some two and a half years now when China’s Tencent and Hong Kong telecom giant Pccw led an investment round in STX with the specific aim of building a studio.

Tpg Growth, whose parent Tpg owns a majority stake in CAA, and John Malone’s Liberty Global have teamed to launch a global television production and distribution studio dubbed Platform One Media. The studio will be majority owned by Evolution Media, Tpg Growth’s investment partnership with CAA and Participant Media, with Liberty Global taking a minority equity stake via Liberty Global Group in its first major foray into TV production and distribution.

Platform One, which has tapped former Gaumont Television CEO Katie O’Connell Marsh as CEO, will absorb Tpg Growth’s Slingshot Global Media, including its portfolio and development projects. Courtney Conte, who was appointed as new President of Slingshot Global Media in January, will be Chief Operating Officer and President of Platform One. Also coming over from Slingshot is head of Business Affairs Neil Strum. Launched in 2014, Slingshot put a slew of high-profile series in development though none has gone into production.