Legendary Entertainment, owned by Apollo Global Management and known for the Dune films, the MonsterVerse, and this month's Street Fighter opening, has submitted a formal acquisition offer for Lionsgate Studios, according to Bloomberg. Neither company has officially commented.
The bid values Lionsgate at approximately $3.5 billion, with Legendary also prepared to assume $1.9 billion in existing debt, per the report. Lionsgate shares rose about 15% on the news, bringing the studio's market capitalization to roughly $3.6 billion.
The strategic logic centers on distribution. Legendary has historically relied on output deals with other studios to release its films. A Lionsgate acquisition would give it direct control over that pipeline. Lionsgate completed its separation from Starz in May 2025, freeing the studio from its TV division and making it a cleaner acquisition target.
What Legendary would be acquiring: one of the most durable franchise catalogs in the business. Lionsgate holds John Wick, The Hunger Games, Twilight, and Saw, alongside a library exceeding 20,000 film and television titles. The studio recently released the box-office hit Michael and has upcoming films including a John Rambo installment and Mel Gibson's The Resurrection of the Christ.
Both companies declined to comment to Bloomberg. Lionsgate is set to report quarterly earnings on November 5.