Korea’s CJ ENM Completes Acquisition of Endeavor Content

South Korea’s CJ ENM Wednesday introduced that it had accomplished the acquisition of an 80% stake within the scripted enterprise of U.S.-based international premium content material studio Endeavor Content material. The deal, first introduced in November, contains administration rights and is valued at $785 million.

The acquisition will give CJ ENM entry to Endeavor Content material’s portfolio protecting a roster of expertise and creators and a sturdy international distribution community, thus strengthening its international content material manufacturing and multi-studio construction. Endeavor Content material’s giant library continues to increase, and the corporate expects to be concerned within the manufacturing of greater than 40 films and collection by 2023. It additionally transforms CJ ENM from being a key participant within the Asia area into a world operation.  

Endeavor Content material’s Graham Taylor and Chris Rice will proceed as its co-CEOs. 

“Endeavor Content material would be the key driving drive for CJ ENM’s international development” mentioned Kang Ho-Sung, CEO, CJ ENM. “CJ ENM plans to supply and distribute its personal content material for viewers all around the globe with Endeavor Content material, now a part of the multi-studio, as the worldwide basecamp.”

“Endeavor has retained 20% of the scripted portion of Endeavor Content material and has retained the non-scripted portion of the enterprise, in addition to sure documentary and movie gross sales and financing consulting companies,” Endeavor mentioned in a regulatory submitting.

Endeavor Content material was fashioned in 2017 to rev up the content material manufacturing facet of Endeavor, however the transfer helped spark a two-year struggle with the Writers Guild of America over battle of curiosity issues as a result of the corporate additionally owns Hollywood’s largest expertise company, WME.

In January 2021, Endeavor reached a settlement with the Writers’ Guild of America that known as for it to divest nearly all of its curiosity within the scripted movie and TV operations of Endeavor Content material, which has co-produced such collection as BBC America’s “Killing Eve,” AMC’s “The Night time Supervisor,” Hulu’s “Regular Individuals” and “9 Good Strangers.”

CJ ENM has operations that stretch from movie to TV, music and performing arts. Its previous movie hits embrace “Parasite,” Roaring Currents” and “Ode to My Father.” Its TV highlights embrace “Mr. Sunshine, Grandpas Over Flowers” and “I Can See Your Voice.” It additionally presents KCON, the world’s largest Ok-culture conference and pageant celebrating Hallyu, and the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), Asia’s greatest music awards.