Sony Vying with Lionsgate for Terminator Rights
Posted 02.06.10 by BrentJS
According to Variety, Sony has emerged as a potential challenger to Lionsgate's bid to buy the rights to the Terminator franchise. Originally purchased by Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek of Halcyon Co. from Mario Kassar in 2007 for $25 million, Lionsgate's "stalking horse" or floor bid was considerably lower than that at $15 million plus a 5% cut of future grosses, while Sony's bid is unknown.
Anderson and Kubicek produced 2009's Terminator Salvation, which earned more than $370 million worldwide, but filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings after failing to make good on their debt to hedge fund lender Pacificor. The pair tried to forestall the necessity of auctioning off the rights to the franchise, arguing in court that it was worth at least $70 million, but were ultimately unsuccessful.
Thursday was the final day for submitting offers and it is likely that there were other bidders besides Sony and Lionsgate, but Halcyon Co. is not commenting. The auction will be held Monday in Los Angeles, with the bankruptcy hearing following on Wednesday. The winner of the auction will control the rights to all future Terminator movies, TV shows, DVDs, and other related merchandise. As the stalking horse bidder, if Lionsgate doesn't win the auction, the winning bidder will have to pay the company a "breakup fee" of $750,000.