Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment has unveiled a deal to acquire the assets of film studio 1091 Media as part of a $15.6 million cash and stock deal.
The deal, subject to closing conditions, offers 1091 Pictures $8 million in cash, $2 million in newly issued preferred NASDAQ shares valued at $25 each, and another 375,000 shares of Class A common stock valued at $14.80 each. And acquiring 1091 Pictures aims to accelerate Chicken Soup’s strategy to launch an indie advertising-backed video-on-demand, or AVOD, streaming service by doubling the size of its content catalogue.
1091 Pictures brings around 4,000 movies and TV series to Chicken Soup, including The Ghost of Peter Sellers, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, the sport series A Kid from Coney Island, executive produced by Kevin Durant, and Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
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“The 1091 Pictures team transformed their large content library into a scalable, modern distribution platform with a compelling slate of channels that are a pragmatic addition to our existing assets,” David Fannon, president of Screen Media Ventures, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company, said in a statement.
The deal for 1091 Pictures comes as Hollywood media players increasingly target online advertising as a new front in the streaming wars beyond subscription VOD services. The 1091 Pictures acquisition and distribution divisions will be folded into Screen Media’s own teams, and the 1091 Pictures-owned channel business will be integrated into the Crackle Plus networks as Chicken Soup grows its streaming services and FAST channels.
“We are bullish that the scale and reach of the combined teams starts us on an exciting journey to be able to further capitalize on this strong amalgamation of assets,” Eric Min, general manager and head of content for 1091 Pictures, added in his own statement.
