Weinstein Co in Talks on Possible Sale Post Harassment Scandal

Weinstein Co will hold a board meeting on Tuesday, 17 October, but no other details were mentioned.

In this 8 January 2017 file photo, Harvey Weinstein arrives at The Weinstein Company and Netflix Golden Globes afterparty at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

(Photo: AP)

The Weinstein Company has entered talks to sell the bulk of its assets to private equity firm Colony Capital, the companies said on Monday, 16 October, as the film production company looks for stability after the departure of co-founder Harvey Weinstein.

Co-Chairman Bob Weinstein, Harvey's brother and the other co-founder had denied the firm was seeking to sell or shut down after firing Harvey Weinstein, accused of sexually harassing or assaulting women over the past three decades.

Colony Capital, which has about $20 billion in assets under management, will provide an immediate capital infusion into Weinstein Co and is in talks to buy all or a significant portion of its assets, the companies said in a statement.

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Weinstein Co will have a board meeting on Tuesday, 17 October, the company confirmed on Monday. No further details of the meeting were available.

One of Hollywood's most influential forces since launching in October 2005, Weinstein Co produces and distributes films, scoring hits ‘Shakespeare in Love,’ ‘The King's Speech,’ ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ and others. It does not operate a film studio and as such, has few physical assets.

If the deal goes through, it will be familiar territory for Thomas Barrack, the founder and executive chairman of Colony Capital.

His firm and the Qatar Investment Authority bought the Miramax studio, founded by the Weinstein brothers, in 2010 and sold the movie production and distribution company last year to BeIN Media Group.

Like Miramax, the value of Weinstein Co likely lies in its library of movie hits, which are in demand by traditional TV networks and online streaming services.

Weinstein Co handed control of 200 to 250 films to Goldman Sachs Group Inc and insurance company Assured Guaranty Ltd when it overhauled its balance sheet to avoid bankruptcy in 2010, while retaining ownership of 150 films, Reuters reported at the time.

Goldman Sachs later offloaded its control of the library to AMC Networks, which still owns a minority stake in the library, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

It is unclear who holds control of the bulk of the library now, because the 2010 deal allowed for Weinstein Co to reclaim ownership once some debts were repaid.

Colony Capital and Weinstein Co made no mention in their statement on Monday of a possible deal value.

(The article has been edited for length)

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