eOne Buys Remaining Stake in The Mark Gordon Company

Entertainment One (eOne) has agreed to acquire the remaining 49 percent of The Mark Gordon Company for $209 million, with Mark Gordon himself taking on a new role and John Morayniss stepping down.

Gordon becomes the president and chief content officer for film, television and digital. In this newly created role, Gordon will lead the company’s creative units.

Steve Bertram was appointed president of film, television and digital. In his new role, Bertram will oversee all commercial and distribution operations.

John Morayniss, who led eOne’s TV business since its inception in 2008, has decided to step down. He will remain with the company to help facilitate the transition. “I want to recognize John, whose focus, innovative deal-making and charismatic leadership of our television business over so many years has helped make us the global force we are today,” said Darren Throop, the CEO of eOne. “John’s relationships across the industry resulted in exponential growth across eOne’s television business in Canada and around the globe, and he leaves us with incredible momentum. I’m thankful for his continuing support through the transition.”

Entertainment One had acquired 51 percent of The Mark Gordon Company in January 2015. Pending shareholder approval, it will now take over full 100-percent ownership.

Throop commented: “Mark Gordon is one of the industry’s most accomplished film and television producers with a long track-record of success and commitment to putting talent first. Mark’s leadership over content creation across eOne underscores our vision to be the preeminent platform-agnostic content company in the world. Today’s transaction signals that we are focused on investing heavily in the best creative talent. This is where Mark shines and what we know he’ll continue to do well into the future with eOne and all of our resources fully behind him.”

“Darren’s commitment to support our vision gives me confidence that we will achieve the quality and volume of premium content on a much broader scale both domestically and internationally,” said Gordon. “Ultimately, it is the creative partnerships with producers, writers, directors and actors that will bring us success. It is our mission to provide them the opportunity to tell great stories and to be financially rewarded for their work.”

“Mark’s unwavering support of creative talent and relentless pursuit of the highest quality content have been the foundation of his success,” added Bertram. “His creative instincts, deep relationships, and unique understanding of the content audiences crave have supercharged our business over the past three years. I couldn’t be more excited to unleash that power across eOne and to leverage eOne’s global resources to extend Mark’s talent-friendly approach. I can’t wait for us to get started.”