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Lionsgate catches a Break with $21 million investment

Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:46pm EDT

By Etan Vlessing

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - Canadian ministudio Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. said on Wednesday that it has made a strategic investment in online video sharing site Break.com.

Vancouver-based Lionsgate did not disclose financial terms of the deal, but it reportedly invested $21 million in stock for a 42 percent stake in the company.

Lionsgate said the deal will allow it to distribute its content and promote its upcoming movies and TV series on Break's online video entertainment channel.

Vice chairman Michael Burns said that Lionsgate plans to leverage its intellectual property "that we have never monetized." He cited as examples behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes and trailers.

Added Break CEO Keith Richman, "Lionsgate's tremendous arsenal of cutting-edge content and its commitment to innovative growth in the digital space make it the perfect partner."

Richman outlined three points of opportunity: The ability to leverage Lionsgate's content, to use the Lionsgate audience to test new concepts and to marry Lionsgate's expertise in how to leverage content with Break's expertise in online distribution.

Break primarily targets a young male audience, and Lionsgate estimates that the site receives about 17 million unique users monthly. Break was founded 1998 and survived the bursting of the Internet bubble that sunk many of its competitors. The company has original-content partnerships with NBC Digital Studios, Endemol and Twisted Pictures.

Lionsgate also has about a 20 percent stake in online movie-rental company CinemaNow.

"We don't expect Break to be the last digital investment," Burns said.

Shares of Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. rose 2 percent on Wednesday to $11.22.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter


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