Vancouver-based Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:LGF) has sold a 49% stake of its TV Guide Network and TVGuide.com to a private equity firm for US$123 million.
The private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase, One Equity Partners, has the option to by another 1% of the business.
Allen Shapiro, a media investor, has also joined the partnership as the joint venture's chairman, partnering with Lions Gate co-chairman and CEO Jon Feltheimer to lead the channel's executive committee.
Lions Gate paid US$250 million on February 28 to acquire the TV Guide Network, which reaches about 83 million homes and is one of the 30 most widely distributed cable networks in the U.S.
Lions Gate said the TV Guide Network acquisition is part of its strategy to leverage its content into new channel distribution platforms.
Lions Gate's share price range during the past week: between US$9.85 and US$10.65; 52-week high: US$10.97; 52-week low: US$3.65.