7 Days of Deals

DEAL OF THE WEEK: Twilight Fuels $750M Summit Refinance: Investors who took a risk in 2007 on the creation of independent studio Summit Entertainment now are reaping the rewards. The mini-major, flush with cash from its Twilight franchise, is closing $750 million in new financing that will allow it to pay off high-interest debt and award $200 million in dividends. The refinancing, arranged by J.P. Morgan, UBS AG and Los Angeles’ Liner Grode Stein law firm, consists of a $550 million loan with a term of 51/2 years and a $200 million revolving line of credit guaranteed against future revenue from movies including the two-part adaptation of Breaking Dawn, the fourth Twilight book, which is in production. So who benefits? Sharing in the dividend will be Peak Group Holdings, Summit’s main equity financier, as well as all of the senior management team, including co-chairman Rob Friedman and president Erik Feig. Peak includes investments by Suhail Rizvi’s Rizvi Traverse Management, Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media, Emilio Diez Barroso’s Nala Films and entities affiliated with the Omar Amanat family trust. Also in line to receive a dividend is a corporation owned by Summit co-chairman Patrick Wachsberger, COO Bob Hayward, president of international David Garrett and possibly others. Among the entities in line to have their debt paid back with interest are GE Capital, the bank holding company CIT, Comerica Bank, the D.E. Shaw Group and the Aramid Entertainment Fund. “It gives them a considerable amount of financial breathing room for the next couple years,” analyst Harold Vogel says of the deal. But, he warns, “it doesn’t guarantee that the Twilight series can be replicated.” — Alex Ben Block