The lockdown following the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic may be presenting a grim picture for businesses the world over but Indian company Eros International has reason to celebrate in these difficult and trying times too. It has partnered with one of the fastest-growing media companies of Hollywood, STX Entertainment, to form a global media company with unique resources and capability to make and distribute Bollywood and Hollywood premium content across platforms. The new company is called Eros STX Global Corporation and it will leverage strategic and distribution partnerships globally, including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, NBC Universal and Google/YouTube.
The revamped capital structure includes $125 million of incremental equity from existing and new STX Entertainment equity investors, including TPG, Hony Capital and Liberty Global; far greater liquidity; and a strong balance sheet which includes a $350-million JP Morgan-led credit facility. The financial scale will include over $600 million in proforma revenue for calendar year 2019, and more than $300 million of highly-predictable aggregated future revenue from STX’s films released in 2019. Eros brings over 188 million registered users of its digital platform, Eros Now, including 26 million paid subscribers.
The newly constituted management team will be led by Kishore Lulla as executive co-chairman, Robert Simonds as co-chairman and CEO, Andrew Warren as CFO, Rishika Lulla Singh and Noah Fogelson as co-presidents, and Prem Parameswaran as head of corporate strategy. The company will be a publicly traded enterprise and is expected to be positioned uniquely to benefit from the accelerating consumption of premium digital content in the world’s most significant growth markets.
STX Entertainment was founded in 2014 and it has thus far made/released 34 films across traditional and digital media platforms. Its films, including Hustlers, Bad Moms and The Upside, have grossed more than $1.5 billion in global box-office receipts. Its revenue in calendar year 2019 was $400 million.
Kishore Lulla of Eros International said, “We are thrilled to join with STX Entertainment as this represents a landmark step in our company’s transformation.” He added, “This merger will not only fuel our growth but will also diversify our underlying sources of revenue and subscribers with a truly global play, building a powerhouse between East and West.”
Robert Simonds of STX Entertainment stated, “The combination of our two companies creates the first truly independent media company that deeply integrates the expertise and creative cultures of Hollywood and Bollywood. Kishore is a legend in the Indian entertainment industry and a pioneer in OTT content development and distribution in India.”