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Cyclical Consumer Goods & Services Sector, Motion picture and video production Industry
New York Stock Exchange
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
Date: 02/12/16 Current Price: $18.62USD Recommendation: BUY (97%Upside)
Ticker – NYSE:LGF Headquarters: Santa Monica Target Price: $32.26 USD
This report is published for educational
purposes only by students competing in The
CFA Institute Research Challenge.
Highlights
Consumption Trends - Technological developments have altered consumer viewing habits in
the motion picture and television production industry. The amount of new platforms
available to the end consumer resulted in an intensification of demand for premium
content, providing leverage to Lions Gate, whose business revolves around content
creation. Though Lions Gate has embraced the next-generation distribution platforms, they
utilize a diversified distribution strategy.
Motion Picture Operations - The company’s fiscal year 2016 ends March 31. Fiscal ‘16 has
been underwhelming for its motion picture segment, but the current fiscal year was
expected to be the smallest contributor in their three year plan. Lions Gate has stayed its
course and continued to grow and diversify its product portfolio, the benefits of which will
be realized long term.
Television Operations - While the film segment has suffered a down year, the television
segment has continued its robust performance in fiscal ‘16. The television business
increased its revenue and margins, even as the timing of deliveries of television series
adversely affected the quarter performance. The fourth quarter will be the first full quarter
to include operations from Pilgrim Studios, which, along with the deliveries of critical
television series, will drive television growth further.
Risks - Although the entertainment industry is exposed to a multitude of risk factors, the
bottom line depends on the unpredictable nature of consumers. The company’s business,
financial condition, operating results, liquidity, and prospects are all vulnerable to changing
consumer and cultural tastes.
Valuation – We issue a Buy Recommendation on Lionsgate (LGF) with a target price of
$32.26 using Discounted Cash Flow Analysis, Enterprise Valuation method, and Relative
Valuation method in comparison to their competitors. We determined this target price
using the average of all three valuation methods.
Recent News
Increased dividends from $0.07 per share to $0.09 per share during 2Q Fiscal 2016
Though the company reported negative earnings in the quarter ending September 30,
2015, the company raised dividends by $0.02 per share regardless. The company firmly
believes this underperformance is due to short-lived factors and remains confident in its
outlook.
M&A discussion with Starz Inc.
February 3, 2016 - Lions Gate disclosed to the SEC that is has opened lines with Starz over a
possible M&A. Starz’s share fell by -22.2% following Lions Gate’s underwhelming 3Q
earnings for fiscal ‘16. Lions Gate’s stock fell -27.2% following its earnings call. The fall in
stock price has become a dividing stake between the two companies and they are unable to
come to terms regarding the price. The deal has yet to be consummated and seems
increasingly unlikely to be consummated each passing day, but there are enough incentives
for both sides to see this through, and will remain a key event to be on the lookout for.
Acquisition of Property Rights
February 4, 2016 - Continuing its recent strategy of acquiring intellectual property rights of
already established book series, the company acquired rights the Magic Tree
House. Spanning 54 volumes, the children’s book series has potential to become a long-
lasting revenue source due to its beloved status across generations. If the first movie,
expected to be released sometime in 2018, is able to capture the hearts of children, the
subsequent releases may very well be guaranteed successes as well.
October 1, 2015 - An acquisition more in line with its past acquisitions of IP, the Kingkiller
Chronicle is another young-adult franchise that LGF is looking to capitalize on. Though the
Divergent series has not matched the success of The Hunger Games franchise, it has done
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Share Price Movement
Closing Price $18.62
52-Week High/Low $41.41 / $16.21
10 Day Average Volume 5.7 million
Diluted Shares Out. 153.3 million
Market Cap $2.8 billion
Dividend Yield 1.93%
Beta 1.29
EV / Revenue 1.6x
EV / EBITDA 17.5x
Institutional Holdings 98.63%
EPS 0.36
LGF Market Profile
3. well for the bottom line, and the Kingkiller Chronicles would follow those expectations:
potential to over-perform with the worst-case scenario still contributing positively to the
bottom line.
Strategic Partnership with New Regency
January 19, 2016 - A multi-faceted production and distribution agreement was formed
between LGF and New Regency. The arrangement brings together two companies with
similar strategies relating to the type of content they engage in. The benefits for Lions Gate
include adding to its international library, including New Regency’s recent string of award-
caliber films (i.e., The Big Short, The Revenant). New Regency benefits from being able to
utilize Lions Gate’s distribution infrastructure. The partnership also allows for the two
studios to work together on future projects.
Expansion of Television Operations
November 12, 2015 - LGF has made an investment in Pilgrim Studios, giving them a majority
stake of the unscripted producer (62.5%). The transaction doubles LGF’s television slate to
80. Pilgrim will operate autonomously, with full creative control. The deal provides
complementary diversification to LGF’s premium scripted content, as Pilgrim operates in
unscripted, non-fiction programming.
Fiscal 2016, Third Quarter Results
February 4, 2016 - Revenue is $670.5 million, Adjusted EBITDA is $53.6 million, Adjusted
net income is $66.8 million (adjusted EPS of $0.45) compared to the previous year’s quarter
results of $751.3 million, $146.8 million, and $110.0 million (EPS $0.79) respectively. Free
cash flow went from a negative the previous year’s quarter at -$4.6 million to $73.9 million
this quarter.
Business Description
Lions Gate (LGF, Lionsgate) was first founded in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is
currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California. LGF has established themselves as one
of the most commercially successful mini movie production and distribution companies,
being the seventh most profitable movie studio in 2015. The company is a global content
leader with a solid diversified presence in two segments, Motion Picture and Television
Production. 75.9% of LGF’s gross revenue comes from Motion Picture while Television
Production accounts for the other 24.1% for the fiscal year ended March 2015. Although
Motion Picture is still LGF’s main source of revenue, its revenue has decreased 16.6% in
comparison to 2014, while Television Production’s revenue increased 29.5%.
Motion Picture Segment is separated into Theatrical, Home Entertainment, Television,
International, and Motion Pictures-Other, with Home Entertainment (36.4%) being the top
revenue source of this segment. The decrease in Motion Picture segment revenue overall
was mostly driven by the fewer films released in Fiscal 2015 as well as the performance of
the titles released in the current fiscal year. The only sub-segment in Motion Picture that
increased in revenue this year is Television, which have increased by 19.9%, driven mainly
by the contribution of 2014 and prior theatrical slates.
Television Production Segment is separated into Domestic Television, International, Home
Entertainment, Television Production-Other, with Domestic Television generating 71.7% of
the segment revenue. The segment revenue has increased as a whole with the exception of
Packaged Media under Home Entertainment revenue. The increase in the segment was
mainly driven by the increase in television episodes delivered in fiscal 2015, such as Anger
Management, Mad men, Nashville, Orange is the new black, etc.
Although the company’s segmentation are motion picture and television production, the
largest component of revenue comes from home entertainment, which is embedded in
both segments. Revenue generated through home entertainment accounts for 29.5% of
total revenue in fiscal year 2015, decreased 18.1% in comparison to prior year.
LGF is also in the process of venturing into game space by investments and partnerships
with game companies in fiscal year 2015. The company plan to extend television shows and
featured films franchises to the gaming audiences as well. Many television shows or films
have switch gears to enter to the game space in the past, such as the infamous Halo, Tron
and Residence Evil, suggesting that this type of venture will have a positive development in
the near future. Two major moves of LGF include the acquisition of an interest in Telltale
Games and the Strategic partnership and investment in Next Games.
Strategy
LGF’s strategy focuses on the following three points:
-1.41
-0.16
-0.39
-0.27
1.72
1.10
1.25
-2.00
-1.50
-1.00
-0.50
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015LGF Diluted FFO EPS
$1,820.
10
$2,182.
90
579.50
447.40
2015 2014
SEGMENTATION
Television
Production
Motion Pictures
4. Diversification of the library of content - LGF aim to continue to grow and diversify the
portfolio of film, television show, and digital content in order to capitalize on demand
portion of the business, as that is where the future trend is pointing towards. By increasing
the library of content, the company will be able to capture more diversified viewers with its
long tail in various distribution channels.
Disciplined approach in “greenlighting” and content acquisition - LGF attempt to
strategically make decision on “greenlighting” and content acquisition in a disciplined
manner. Many key executives are involved in the decision to greenlight a film, while taking
in consideration of budget, hundreds of script and original intellectual properties, and the
success of the film, which will highly affect the reputation of the company.
Partnership and Joint Ventures - LGF actively seeks participation in partnership and joint
ventures with various competitors as well as other companies or studios with similar
interest. By doing so, LGF have successfully expanded its footprint in the media and
entertainment industry, furthermore decreased cost accrued in comparison to sole
production, and diversified portfolio of products and revenue sources.
Shareholder Structure
LGF is owned by 3 major shareholders that have over 5% of ownership, senior management
of the company and the public. As of July 20, 2015, Mark H Racheskey M.D owns 27.2%,
Capital World Investors Owns 5.8%, and Research Global Investors owns 5.4% of all the
outstanding shares. Senior Management and Board of Directors collectively owns 35.3% of
all the outstanding shares, with Mark H Racheskey M.D holding 27.2%, Michael Burns
holding 2.4%, Jon Feltheimer holding 2.6%, Dr. John C. Malone holding 3% and the rest of
the board and senior management holding less than 1%.
Mark H Rachesky, who is currently a Director of Lionsgate, is also the Founder and the
President of MHR Fund Management LLC, an investment firm that manages approximately
$6 Billion of capital and has holding in public and private companies in various industries.
Together with certain investment funds of Mark H Rachesky, namely MHR Affiliates. MHR
Affiliates have helped with registration and the offering of the company’s common shares,
and LGF have reimbursed the MHR affiliates for costs related to such purposes, accounting
to approximately $1.0 million, which is included in general administration expense in the
consolidated statement of income for fiscal year 2015.
Corporate Management
Mark H Rachesky is the independent, non-executive Chairman of the Board. He ensures
independent oversight of the company and presides over regular scheduled executive
sessions of the members of the Board. Along with executive Chief Executive Officer Jon
Feltheimer and executive Vice Chairman Michael Burns, who have led the company’s
development over the past 15 years, LGF has grown to one of the top seven most profitable
independent movie studios.
Corporate Governance and Management
LGF’s Board of directors each has unique expertise that is crucial to the success of the
company, including extensive knowledge and experiences in investment banking and
regulation, media and entertainment law, media and entertainment industry, and business
acumen and management strategies. The board has formed 4 standing committees: Audit
& Risk Committee, Compensation Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee, and Strategic Advisory Committee; with a financial expert assigned to comply
with SEC guidelines and NYSE listing standards.
The interest of LGF’s executives is also aligned with the interest of the shareholders, in part
due to the Executive Compensation Programs that reward executives based upon the
performance of the company. Additionally, long term incentive programs are designed to
compete with entrepreneurial employment alternatives, as well as short term initiatives
that would jeopardize long term growth of LGF. LGF also has a policy that prohibits any
officers, directors, and employees from entering in any type of short positions that would
hedge against losses of LGF, in hopes to mitigate discrepancy in interest between
shareholders and employees.
In order to gain assistance in its review and determination of the Company’s executive
compensation program, the Compensation Committee hires Pay Governance as the
Compensation Consultant from time to time. The consultant provides competitive data on
compensation, review executive compensation programs, provides information on
compensation related practices, and compares peer group in the industry to provide a
competitive compensation in retaining executives.
Shareholder Structure
Key Executives and Board Members
Dr. John C. Malone
Mark H. Rachesky, M.D.
Capital World Investors
Capital Research Global Investors
Public
18%
12%
11%
7%
52%
Screen Marketshare
1. Regal Entertainment
Group
2. AMC Entertainment Inc.
3. Cinemark USA, Inc.
4. Carmike Cinemas, Inc.
Rest of Theatres
5. Industry Overview and Competition Positioning
Key Drivers for Entertainment Industry
Number of cinemas and screen in the United States: The number of cinemas in the United
States have been steadily declining, but this is due to new theatres that have been built in
place of old theatres, which have the capability to handle more screens than in the past.
These new theatres are being spearheaded by the top 4 multiplexes including Regency,
AMC, Cinemark, and Carmike Cinemas, which controls around 48% of all movie theatres in
the U.S and Canada in 2015. The number of cinemas is decreasing, but the number of
screen each cinema can hold is increasing.
Movie Genres that matter: The most profitable movie genre for 2015 was action and
adventures movies followed by comedy, drama, and thrillers. Lionsgate is dependent on
creating high cost blockbuster films, but is currently in search of a new franchise that will
take the pedestal from The Hunger Games series. Divergent is a good franchise, but does
not have the pull that The Hunger Games had. In addition, Lionsgate have one high cost
movie coming out this year “Gods of Egypt” and this can hurt the company’s value if it does
not become a major hit in the theatre.
Global consumer demand for movies have increased faster than those in the United States
and Canada: The international market have been growing at a faster rate than the United
States and Canada. Most noticeably is the rate at which the Asian market have been
ascending, which for 2014 accounted for an 11% increase from 2013. Increasing global
presence will help Lionsgate increase its market share and also lower the risk of producing
movies. This was seen with many of the movies it made in the past 3 years, where a movie
that was considered a bust in the U.S/Canada region made more revenue overseas.
(Example I, Frankenstein). For Lionsgate to succeed it must build more relationship with
overseas partner, especially with partners in Asia since it is the fastest growing market in
the world currently (MPAA Market Statistics 2014).
The cost of a movie ticket and the ticket admissions for theatres: The cost of a movie ticket
have gone up consistently each year since 1994. The average movie ticket cost in the U.S in
2015 was $8.43, and we forecast that by 2019, the average cost will be $9.80. This comes
at a time when admission tickets are declining. Our forecast indicates that admission
tickets sold in the U.S. was around 1.28 billion, and by 2019 it will decline to 1.19 billion
tickets sold. Frequent movie goers account for 51% of ticket sales, but only make up 11%
of the population of people who watch movies at the cinema.
Consuming content on the internet and multiple device
Cloud storage have become an important factor for distributing movies and television
shows: Ultraviolet is a cloud base digital rights locker that stores the license for movies and
television shows. It allows users to access content on multiple devices, and up to 5 users
can access the files. Lionsgate is a user of the Ultraviolet system, but some noticeable rivals
includes Disney’s Movie Anywhere, ITunes, Google Play, and Amazon Prime. In addition
Atom is a mobile app for android and IOS that inspires to simplify the movie going
experience. Disney, Fox, and Lionsgate are currently working together to fund Atom with
$50 million and Lionsgate owns 18.1% of ATOM through the partnership.
Internet Infrastructure: Internet Infrastructure upgrade will be required to support higher
resolution content that online streamers will use. CISCO reported that by 2019, 62% of
internet traffic will cross content delivery networks in North America, an uptick of 42%
compared to 2014. According to the Akami 2015 ranking of broadband speed, the United
States ranks 14th in the world, with an average internet connection speed of 12.6 MB/sec.
Netflix recommends that users should have a 24 Mb/sec internet connection to stream 4K
content reliably.
Streaming viewership: The amount of mediums that a view can use to consume contact
have increased dramatically in the past 10 years. With a library of over 15,000 movies,
videos and television shows, Lionsgate is in a strong position to stay competitive in the
future. Lionsgate Premiere is the latest effort to streamline the distribution of movies each
year for the company, and their goal is to deliver 15 movies annually. Netflix, Hulu, and
Amazon Prime are the main players in online streaming that have paid subscribers. Netflix
on its own has over 75 million subscribers, while Hulu has roughly 9 million subscribers,
while Amazon Prime has between 40-50 million subscribers.
Fall of the DVD business and physical media content: The DVD business and physical media
content empire is rapidly declining in terms of market share and revenue. Our estimation is
that by 2019, market share for DVD will drop to 12%, while the bulk of new product will be
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2019ECinema To Screen Growth
Screen Cinema
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Movie ticket to Admission
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Admission Number
Movie ticket prices
6. sold through the digital market. Physical rentals will be obsolete by 2019 accounting for
less than 3% of revenue. Lionsgate packaged media for television products dropped by 8%
year over year from 2014 to 2015, and by 26.3% from 2013 to 2014. Its packaged media
sells for theatre slates decreased by 26.72% from 2014 to 2015, and television production
packaged media sells decreased by 8.7% in the same time frame.
Industry Overview
The television and motion picture production and distribution industry is highly
competitive. As an industry, the market is at saturated levels domestically, with some
growth potential internationally. In the international markets, there are local
entertainment companies that are also competing for market share. Domestically, there is
not much potential for growth other than in the form of stealing market share and
cannibalization.
Industry Leaders
The industry is dominated in large part by a handful of companies known as a “major
studio”. There are six major studios, Walt Disney Studios, Universal Pictures, 20th Century
Fox, Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures. Together, they
have a tight stranglehold on all of the domestic films and programming being produced or
distributed, whether it be through their primary unit or through a variety of
subsidiaries. Each major studio is attached to a larger media conglomerate that generate
over half of their revenue outside of the industry, primarily through their broadcast and
cable networks, or in the case of Columbia Pictures, through their parent company’s
electronics division (Sony). Because the major studios have a steady revenue source from
their parent company, they are better equipped to survive turbulence in the market and
are provided the means of distributing their film and television content.
Independent Studios
Aside from the major studios, there are also numerous independent motion picture and
television production companies fighting for market share. These mini-majors are typically
concentrated solely in the motion picture and television production and distribution
industry. Independent studios have more freedom than major studios when it comes to
what projects they may pursue. Considering that mini-majors are concentrated on smaller
independent films than blockbusters, they are less concerned than major studios with the
controversial nature that are often part of such intellectual property. Mini-majors include
The Weinstein Company, DreamWorks Animation, and Open Road.
Property Rights
While all studios do have a division that create content for motion pictures and television
series from scratch, most of the property rights are acquired from third parties. There are
varying stages at which the property rights are bought, from as early as the script
development stage, to stages past completion of the film, such as film rights being bought
in film festivals.
Technological Advancements: The Internet
A recent development in the industry has been the emergence of digital media
platforms. Such platforms provide an alternative channel of distribution for studios, which
is to the benefit of studios, but digital media platforms have begun to create and compete
for the acquisition of property rights. This effectively cuts out the studio as
intermediaries. Major studios have a variety of traditional distribution networks
themselves, but consumer viewing habits show that digital media platforms are crucial for
the future welfare of studios. The scale of the digital platforms are not large enough to
affect the bottom line, but depending on how actively they pursue the acquisition of
property rights, the digital media platforms remain a cause for concern, as well as a
welcomed business partner.
Competitive positioning
Film and television producers compete with one another for market share of the box-office
spots, television airtime, digital and physical sell-through, and online streaming services.
The movie industry have seen a decline in number of admission sold in recent years leading
to heighten competition between all major players who produces movies. Lionsgate will
see more competition in the future as they fight for better film release time, spending more
resources to create large and expensive action and adventure films to attract consumers to
cover the revenue loss that will come from the finalization of “The Hunger Game” series.
Production cost have also increased due to unionization of the Screen Actor Guild and the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artist, which have strong bargaining power
due to their size (Appendix 11).
Lionsgate invest and partners with different television channels and internet channels to
0% 50% 100%
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
Market share for Home
Entertainment Video and
Streaming
Sell Through Rental Digital
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30000
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2018E
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U.S. Home Entertainment
Spending ($M)
7. Legend
0 No threat to Lionsgate
1 Insignificant threat to Lionsgate
2 Low threat to Lionsgate
3 Moderate threat to Lionsgate
4 Significant threat to Lionsgate
5 High Threat to Lionsgate
distribute its products. It currently has a library with over 13,000 movie and television
products, giving it the second largest content library in the industry. It was able to grow its
library through acquisition of other film and television producers. Lionsgate strong line-up
have in television products have increased their competitive power and allows for strong
negotiation and partnership.
In addition, substitute products are changing the way consumers view content, and is
creating a new generation of people who are heavily reliant on the use of the internet to
consume content, and who are used to paid-subscription models and freemium products
provided by streaming services and mobile apps. Lionsgate increased exposure to new
forms of entertainment including investments in Telltale Games and Next Game adds
additional dimension to their competitive position.
Lionsgate has a strong history of having the best box-office to DVD, and box-office to VOD
conversion rate, having an average 15% conversion rate higher than the industry. In
contrast, physical media sales are declining and will hurt Lionsgate bottom line, as they get
36.4% of their revenue from home entertainment. They have also created a new division in
April 2015 called Lionsgate Premiere, which goal is to produce and distribute 15 films
annually in the theatres, online, and VOD.
Investment Summary
Lions Gate has remained dedicated to its core business and growth strategies over the
course of the year, the benefits of which will be realized over the next few years. As long
as Lions Gate continues to approach its strategies with discipline and balance, the
expectations of the upcoming years remain bright.
We issue a Buy Recommendation on Lionsgate (LGF) with a target price of $32.26 using
Discounted Cash Flow Analysis.
Consumption trend - With the advent of digital media platforms, consumers’ viewing
habits changed dramatically, resulting in the overall number of buyers for TV content
increasing. Being bullish on future market demand and on LGF’s abilities to deliver
premium content, the shift on consumption trend plays enormously to LGF’s benefit.
Expansion without overreaching - The film industry is a very crowded field. While LGF has
previously relegated itself to mostly independent films, the company has now branched
out to bigger budget films, but have done so in measured steps, after years of building its
market share little by little. At some point, LGF will have to compete on or near the same
release date with a major studio’s blockbuster. Whether it chooses to do so by
counterprogramming, or by engaging in a box-office battle has to be done wisely.
Considering independent films are LGF’s forte, and are very distinct compared to
blockbusters, LGF’s option to counterprogram will never be a bad decision. However, the
option to release a big-budget film of its own on the same date as its competitors does not
seem like too bad of a decision in itself, as some of its tentpole films have extremely
distinct characteristics, and tend to be well-known brands.
Conglomerate Infrastructure - Each major studio is attached to a larger media
conglomerate that generate over half of their revenue outside of the industry, primarily
through their broadcast and cable networks, or in the case of Columbia Pictures, through
their parent company’s electronics division (Sony).
- Resource - Because the major studios have a steady revenue source from their
parent company, they are better equipped to survive turbulence in the market.
- Distribution availability - As most of the studios have easy access to network
platforms there is a degree of security in terms of distributing their film and
television content.
- Network risks - While the conglomerates do provide benefits to its studios, the
huge infrastructure of broadcast and cable networks are some cause for
concerns with technology developments. Future viewing habits are
unpredictable, and may fully embrace the digital media platforms, or may
continue to disrupt the industry with new innovations.
There are many factors to be on the lookout for. Being a content creator exclusively, LGF
is a unique investment, which has undoubtedly inflated its stock price. The third quarter
earnings report has plummeted LGF’s stock, and is now looking like a much more
attractive investment than it has previously. There are concerns if LGF can survive the
unending stream of comic book movies, but the three studios with intellectual property
rights to comic book franchises seem to be competing against themselves more so than
with LGF and its diverse portfolio. There is also the Fast & Furious franchise refusing to
stop, the Transformers franchise that is being expanded, the Jurassic Park franchise that
21.30%
19.80%
13.90%
12.40%
8.90%
5.90% 5.90%
Theatre Market Share
2015
Universal Buena Vista
Warner Bros. 20th Century Fox
Sony / Columbia Paramount
Lionsgate
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5
Bargaining
Power of
Supplier
Bargaining
Power of
Buyers
Threat of
Substituti
on
Threat of
New
Entrants
Degree of
Rivalry
Porter's Five Forces
8. has been rebooted, the beloved Star Wars franchise, and an unending list of franchises to
worry about. What Lionsgate needs to worry about is not what others are doing, but how
well they execute themselves. The Last Witch Hunter, American Ultra, and Norm of the
North all invoke feelings of doubt and suspicious activity during the greenlighting process.
How did such horrible movies come to being? If the script was satisfactory, was there a
problem in the production stage? How did the greenlighting committee fail to reach the
same conclusions as both the critics and the consumers? It could be that the studios
acknowledged that the movies went too deep into production, and to cancel it at that
stage would result in too big of a write-off. As they use a financial model that prioritizes
risk mitigation, releasing the films and capturing as much revenues as possible may have
simply been the best thing to do.
With the expectation that the same dubious decision-making that greenlit Norm of the
North will not be repeated again, the expectations for LGF is high, and we emphasize the
buy recommendation.
Financial Analysis
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp’s revenues have fallen 8.77% from 2.63B in 2014 to $2.40B
in 2015, however they have continued to manage a growth in net income by nearly 20%
from $152.03M to $181.78M. The company posted 3rd quarter results that that showed
revenue declining by 10.3% year over year due to the poor performance of their historic
blockbuster Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 2, which grossed only 650 million worldwide.
Meanwhile, LGF’s Television segment continued its healthy growth and expansion in the
quarter and seems to be anchoring in as a big future part of their business as Netflix
renewed their number one hit series Orange is the New Black for seasons 5, 6, and 7.
Revenue has remained just below -5% over the past 3 years, but has maintained a healthy
compound annual growth rate of 6.1% over the preceding 5 years. This rising CAGR is
primarily due to their recent acquisition of Summit, which inflated their revenues nearly
70% during their 2013 fiscal year.
With strong revenues, LGF remained at a gross profit margin of 35.58%, which is considered
a solid number when comparing to the industry. Regardless of their high profit margins, the
company still failed to increase those lines from the same quarter last year. When looking
at net income, from exactly one year ago, LGF has considerably disappointed in comparison
to the market and the movie production industry. The net income fell just over 300% from
the same quarter one year ago, dropping from $20.75M to -$42.60M.
The company has produced a combination of strong growth and resourceful acquisitions
that have helped LGF gain momentum of their television operations. They are on the path
to deliver a top line run rate of over a billion dollars in 2018FY with margins increasing to
between 15% and 20%. This is all without allocating any M&A.
LGF’s substantial amount of debt totaling $1.63 billion dollars and debt to equity ratio of
1.6, higher than the industry average, suggests that there is a large risk related with the
controlling of debt levels in their firm. In addition, there seems to be a sufficient amount of
liquid able assets to fulfil the company’s existing debt commitments. Collection of cash
seems to be a durable attribute as the company has uncollected accounts receivables
totaling over $600 million which provides a day’s receivables outstanding of 135.66 as of
end of 2015FY.
LGF is continually viewed as a strong on high relative volume trading equity. They’ve
averaged a daily-volume of $80.9 million, which is 13.12X greater than the normal stock
within that industry.
37%
63%
Equity and Debt
Structure
Equity = 955.4 Mil USD
Debt = 1620.10 Mil USD
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Revenues (LGF)
Actual Projected
9. Valuation
We evaluated Lions Gate using the Discounted Cash Flow technique (DCF) and the DCF
analysis is based on the company’s combined total financial figures. We projected LGF’s
revenues on a per years’ basis using CAGR from 2006 until 2015.
DCF Valuation
Sales: Net Revenues or Sales were classified as a combination of 75.6% movie production
and 24.6% television production.
CapEx : The capital expenditure was projected from fixed assets as a percentage of sales.
We determined the net additions in fixed assets to be the amount for projected capital
expenditure.
Change in Net Working Capital: The negative dip in Change in Net Working Capital in 2016
was determined by 3rd quarter results that came in lower than anticipated, however the
following two years were positive. We took the difference of the change in net operating
working capital on a year-by-year basis to determine our investment in working capital and
eventually our NOPAT.
Free Cash Flows: These numbers were generated from subtracting the projected
investments in operating capital from NOPAT in 2016 to 2018. We then calculated a horizon
value by multiplying the calculated sustainable growth rate to the last year’s free cash flows
and using a WACC of 8.6%. We then discounted all of future cash flows as well as the
horizon value back to the present in order to get the present value of all cash flows.
Key Financial Ratios
Turnover 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016E 2017E 2018E
Total Asset Turnover 0.73 0.98 0.94 0.78 0.63 0.60 0.59
Days Sales Outstanding 128.54 105.91 116.06 135.18 94.51 96.95 101.77
Profitability
EBITDA Margin 2.38 10.39 10.13 9.54 8.92 9.35 9.59
EBIT/Revenue % 2.75 9.23 9.55 11.08 8.35 8.72 8.88
Net Income Margin -2.46 8.57 5.78 7.58 4.19 4.20 4.48
Return on Assets -1.40 8.41 5.33 5.52 2.62 2.52 2.64
Return on Common Equity -34.22 104.02 32.31 25.48 9.63 8.94 9.06
Solvency
Total Debt/Total Assets 37.95 48.07 38.44 39.95 64.12 58.98 55.06
Long-Term Debt/Equity 120.59 24.45 60.65 58.07 159.34 93.12 116.20
Liquidity
Cash Ratio 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.06 0.26 0.28 0.29
Current Ratio 0.46 0.46 0.61 0.59 0.53 0.53 0.53
10. Enterprise Valuation
When calculating the enterprise valuation, we found the market capitalization of the firm,
total debt and cash and equivalents. We added the debt to the market capitalization and
subtracted the cash of the firm. Once we found the enterprise value, we divided the figure
by the number of outstanding shares to come up with the intrinsic value of the stock. See
appendix 5.
Relative Valuation
Forward projected earnings growth was used to determine the relative valuation of
Lionsgate and its competitors. Lionsgate forward earnings is higher compared to their
peers and is comparable to the mini-major film studio such as DreamWorks. Lionsgate
forward P/E ratio of 30.41x is lower than their current P/E ratio of 47.50x due to
uncertainty in its ability to establish a new strong movie franchise to bring in strong
revenue.
Investment Risk
Economic Risks (MR: Severe discretionary income declines)
The entertainment industry is extremely cyclical; therefore, it is more susceptible to
macroeconomic factors. Major macroeconomic factors that would increasingly affect the
entertainment industry include increases in interest rates, changes in discretionary income,
and increases in the costs of motion picture production and marketing. Additionally, slower
global economic growth is expected this year and could negatively affect demand, due to
high elasticity in the entertainment industry and decreased consumer confidence.
Industry Risks
Home entertainment revenues have been increasing primarily led by an 8% increase in Blu-
ray disk sales. (Digital Entertainment Group) A potential drawback from this success is that
box office ticket sales may be substituted or cannibalized by home entertainment. DEG
predicts that home videos, including pay-television and online streaming services will
exceed movie ticket sales in 2017. Content producers will have to adapt to changes in
viewership trends, as viewers continue to shift to home entertainment and digital
platforms. In addition, declining physical media sales will affect producer revenue streams.
(Appendix 13)
Regulatory Risks (RR: Increase in regulations)
The film industry is required to amortize film costs individually, which is done by forecasting
the expected revenue for the current period and the total future revenues for a particular
project. Given the inaccuracy of forecasts, future adjustments for amortization could be
required, and these adjustments may negatively impact the value of the firm. In addition to
these guidelines, content producers could be severely affected if they fail to comply with
SAG-AFTRA working guidelines, as negotiations within unions may be exceedingly costly and
pose the threat of a strike. (IBIS) The film industry is receiving support that will protect the
intellectual property of their products. The private sector has the Copyright Alert System
and the Trust Accountability Group’s Brand integrity Program Against Piracy (Tag Anti-
piracy program) to reduce online piracy.
11. Risk Risk Mitigation
Rise in
Interest
Rates
Plan to enter into interest
rate SWAPS in order to
exchange their floating rate
for a fixed rate.
Foreign
Exchange
Rate Risk
Plan to use hedges and
derivatives to minimize risk.
Film
failure
Cost discipline and closely
manage film exposure
through joint ventures.
Volatile
Revenue
LGF has further diversified
through T.V. revenue and
agreement with Netflix.
Debt Risk (IR: Increase in Interest Rates)
The interest on Lionsgate’s debt under amended and restated senior revolving credit facility
along with certain production loans are expected to continue to be at variable rates of
interest which exposes the firm to substantial interest rate risk. Thus, an increase in interest
rates would increase variable debt service obligations, thus decreasing net income, even if
the amount borrowed remained constant. LGF’s revolving credit facility is priced at a
margin of 2.50% over LIBOR, with a maximum borrowing capacity of $800 million.
Production loans incur interest at rates ranging from approximately 3.27% to 3.52% and
margins may range anywhere from 2.5% over the one, two, three, or six-month LIBOR to
3.0% over the one, three or six-month LIBOR. (Appendix 15) Inclusively, if LGF has the need
to raise capital through debt their current speculative credit rating of Ba3 would be an
increased financing rate relative to their competitors.
Business Risk
International
Lionsgate operates globally and is impacted by foreign laws, policies, taxes, and content
restrictions. Piracy is also a risk that LGF faces abroad and cannot be assured sanctions will
be enforced. Moreover, war and terrorist attacks may have a negative impact on LGF’s
revenue streams. LGF is also tasked with the challenge of adapting to cultural tastes and
attitudes.
Foreign Exchange Rate Risk (FR)
Although LGF reports revenues and results of operations in U.S. dollars, 26% of their
revenue for fiscal year 2015 was earned outside of North America. Lionsgate’s currency
exposure is between U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, British pound sterling, Euros, and
Australian dollars. This currency exposure may impact revenues and operating margins,
which in turn may affect financial conditions, operating results, liquidity, and LGF’s overall
business. The potential impact of such currency exposure was demonstrated when the
revenues from Mockingjay 2 were negatively impacted by 15% as international currencies
devalued. (PiperJaffray)
Financial Exposure
Motion Picture accounted for 76% of Lionsgate revenues for fiscal year 2015. Given that a
major portion of LGF’s revenue is derived from motion pictures it is important to note that
viewership trends are unpredictable and past successes will not necessarily predict future
success. Due to the high costs of producing and marketing films, it is possible that a film
that fails to resonate with the audience may incur higher capital expenditures than the
capital revenue it delivers. Inclusively, it should be noted that there is a gap between the
time when capital expenditures occur and when capital revenue is received. LGF faces
intense competition from larger and more diversified studios. Competition may lead to an
oversupply of films, which may decrease LGF’s market share and revenue.
Loss of retailers and distributors (LR)
Lionsgate received 8% or $191.97 million of its total revenue in 2015 from Walmart. LGF
does not have long-term agreements with Walmart or any other retailers. If Walmart or any
other of the retailers LGF does business with reduces or cancels an order, or is negatively
impacted by the economy, LGF’s revenues would be reduced. Additionally, Walmart
recently announced the closing of 154 U.S. stores and 115 more of its global locations, so
that consumers of LGF products will have less access to these products in those locations.
Ownership of Shares
A few shareholders, some of which serve on the Board of Directors, such as the Chairman
Mark H. Rachesky, own a majority of the shares. Jointly the shareholders are able to
considerably influence matters that require shareholder approval. These matters include
but are not limited to the election of directors, approval of mergers and corporate
transactions. Additionally, the control that Rachesky and other shareholders of the board
have obstructs other shareholders’ ability to implement prompt changes. Due to the large
percentage of shares held by the board and certain institutional investors holding more
than 5% of shares, the stock price may be substantially affected by any sales they make or
by a perception that they might sell a large number of shares. This in turn can hamper
Lionsgate’s ability to raise capital through the sale of common shares or debt that is
convertible into common shares.
Accretive Acquisitions
Lionsgate has grown primarily through acquisitions. They have acquired Mandate Pictures,
Maple Pictures, Debmar-Mercury, Redbus, Artisan Entertainment, and Trimark. It also has a
stakes in EPIX (31.2%), TV Guide (50%), Break Media (42%), Tiger Gate (45.5%), Pantellion
Films (49%), Road- side Attractions (43%), Elevation (50%), and Celestial Tiger
Probability
Impact
Source: Team
Risk Matrix
12. Entertainment (16%). Although, Lionsgate’s acquisitions have been successful, this does
not guarantee that their future acquisitions will continue to be successful. Lionsgate might
also acquire Starz, which would increase Lionsgate’s revenue stream.
13. Disclosures:
CFA Institute Research Challenge
Ownership and material conflicts of interest:
The author(s), or a member of their household, of this report does not hold a financial interest in the securities of this company.
The author(s), or a member of their household, of this report does not know of the existence of any conflicts of interest that might bias the
content or publication of this report.
Receipt of compensation:
Compensation of the author(s) of this report is not based on investment banking revenue.
Position as a officer or director:
The author(s), or a member of their household, does not serve as an officer, director or advisory board member of the subject company.
Market making:
The author(s) does not act as a market maker in the subject company’s securities.
Disclaimer:
The information set forth herein has been obtained or derived from sources generally available to the public and believed by the author(s) to be
reliable, but the author(s) does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to its accuracy or completeness. The information
is not intended to be used as the basis of any investment decisions by any person or entity. This information does not constitute investment
advice, nor is it an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security. This report should not be considered to be a recommendation by
any individual affiliated with CFA - Society of Orange County, CFA Institute or the CFA Institute Research Challenge with regard to this company’s
stock.
14. Appendices
Appendix 1 – Statement of Profit or Loss
Appendix 2 – Statement of Financial Position
Appendix 3 – Fixed Assets
Appendix 4 – Growth
Statement of Profit or Loss
LGF (millions) 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016E 2017E 2018E
Net Sales Or Revenues 1,587.57 2,708.14 2,630.25 2,399.64 2,336.93 2,556.69 2,814.91
Cost Of Goods Sold 908.40 1,390.56 1,369.38 1,315.77 1,367.10 1,518.40 1,706.45
Gross Profit 679.17 1,317.57 1,260.87 1,083.86 969.83 1,038.29 1,108.46
Selling General And Admin Expense 641.41 1,036.20 994.38 854.99 761.48 799.19 838.37
EBITDA 37.76 281.36 266.48 228.86 208.35 239.11 270.09
Depreciation and Amortization 4.27 8.29 6.53 6.58 10.74 13.32 16.36
Net Operating Income 33.49 273.07 259.95 222.28 197.61 225.79 253.73
Non Operating Income + 10.19 (23.12) (8.81) 43.60 (2.38) (2.81) (3.91)
EBIT 43.68 249.95 251.14 265.88 195.23 222.98 249.82
Interest Expense (-) 78.11 93.58 66.17 52.47 62.34 88.66 92.15
Pretax Income (EBT) (34.42) 156.37 184.96 213.40 132.89 134.32 157.67
Provisionfor Income Taxes (- Taxes) 4.69 (75.75) 32.92 31.62 34.96 26.86 31.53
Net Income (39.11) 232.12 152.03 181.78 97.93 107.46 126.14
Dividends Paid - - - - 6.76 33.12 46.58
Shares Outstanding 143.42 135.19 138.02 145.55 151.08 155.46 160.23
DPS - 0.05 0.24 0.32 0.43 0.57 0.76
Statement of Financial Position
LGF (millions) 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016E 2017E 2018E
Cash 76.23 73.02 34.61 105.20 178.59 202.08 228.49
Receivables 784.53 787.15 885.57 891.88 605.10 679.11 784.86
Total Current Assets 860.76 860.17 920.18 997.08 783.69 881.19 1,013.34
Property Plant And Equipment 42.08 50.86 65.74 66.37 82.43 99.02 118.68
Accumulated Depreciation 31.04 33.55 36.31 39.09 45.67 55.27 65.15
Net Property Plant And Equipment 9.77 8.53 14.55 26.65 36.76 43.75 53.53
Deposits And Other Assets 90.51 72.61 71.06 74.78 82.56 97.22 106.85
Total Assets 2,787.99 2,760.86 2,851.63 3,292.08 3,736.49 4,264.54 4,776.31
Accounts Payable 371.09 313.62 332.45 332.47 375.69 385.88 390.84
Total Current Liabilities 902.35 1,084.37 655.07 332.47 676.12 722.85 781.04
Long Term Debt 1,038.66 569.01 722.54 1,256.75 1,619.60 1,118.83 1,617.93
Other Long Term Liabilities 420.32 409.76 469.39 471.66 604.10 619.84 617.60
Total Liabilities 2,698.21 2,404.34 2,267.09 2,449.80 2,395.79 2,515.32 2,629.61
Common Stock Net 712.62 672.91 743.78 830.78 911.48 1,000.01 1,097.15
Retained Earnings (542.03) (309.91) (157.87) 13.72 107.18 203.72 297.44
Treasury Stock 77.08 - - - - - -
Other Liabilities (3.71) (6.47) (1.37) (2.21) (2.21) (2.21) (2.21)
Shareholders Equity 89.78 356.52 584.53 842.28 1,016.45 1,201.52 1,392.38
Total Liabilities And Shareholders Equity2,787.99 2,760.86 2,851.63 3,292.08 3,412.24 3,716.84 4,021.99
Fixed Assets
LGF (millions) 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016E 2017E 2018E
Beginning Fixed Assets (Property Plant And Equipment)40.81 42.08 50.86 65.74 66.37 82.43 99.02
Net Additions (CapEx) 1.27 8.78 14.88 0.63 16.07 16.58 19.66
Percentage of NetAdditions/Fixed Assets 0.03 0.21 0.29 0.01 0.24 0.20 0.20
Ending Fixed Assets 42.08 50.86 65.74 66.37 82.43 99.02 118.68
Beginning Accumulated Depreciation 31.04 33.55 36.31 39.09 45.67 55.27 65.15
Depreciation Charge 4.27 8.29 6.53 6.58 9.60 9.88 7.28
Ending Accumulated Depreciation 33.55 36.31 39.09 45.67 55.27 65.15 72.42
17. Appendix 8 – Board of Directors
Director Qualifications
Michael Burns, 56
Director Since: August 1999
Vice Chairman Since March 2000
Served as Managing Director and Head of the Office at Prudential Securities Inc's Los Angeles
Investment Banking Office from 1991 to March 2000. Also act as director, member of the Audit
Committee and member of the Finance Committee of Hasbro, Inc; Chairman and co-founder of
Novica.com; member of the Board of Visitors of the John E. Anderson Graduate School of
Management at UCLA. With extensive experiences specializing in raising equity within the media
and entertainment industry, Mr. Burns brings important business and financial expertise to the
Board. His understanding of the company and industry, knowledge in financial and investment
banking expertise and connections in business and relationships with shareholder contributes to his
important at Lionsgate.
Gordon Crawford, 68
Director Since: February 2013
Member of the Strategic Advisory
Committee
Held various position at Capital Research and Management since 1971, retired as its Senior Vice
President in December 2012. Served as Vice Chairman at the Nature Conservancy and Vice Chairman
of the Paley Center for Media. Currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the US
Olympics and Paralympic Foundation, as well as Life Trustee on the Board of Trustees of Southern
California Public Radio. Being one of the most influential and successful investors in the media and
entertainment industry since 1971, Mr. Crawford's professional experiences and understanding of
the industry makes him a valuable member at Lionsgate.
Arthur Evrensel, 57
Director Since: September 2001
Chairman of the Compensation
Committee
Founding partner of the law firm of Michael, Evrensel & Pawar LLP formed in February 2014; partner
with the law firm of Heenan Blaikie LLP from 1992 until 2014. Recognized as one of Canada's leading
entertainment lawyers, including his recognition in the Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada
published by Lexpert/American Lawyer and many more. As a leading counsel in entertainment law
relating to television and motion picture development, production, financing and distribution, as
well as new media and video game law, Mr. Evrensel published numerous articles on international
co-productions and bank financing in the filmed entertainment industry, lectured at top notch
universities as well chaired numerous seminars and conferences on the film and television industry
in Canada, the United States, China, and England. Above expertise is crucial in keeping the company
in line with the regulations in the industry.
Jon Feltheimer, 63
Director Since: January 2000
CEO since March 2000; Co-Chairman
of the Board, June 2005 - February
2012
Worked for Sony Pictures Entertainment 1991-1999; served Founder and President of TriStar
Television 1991-1993; President of Columbia TriStar Television 1993-1995; President of Columbia
TriStar Television Group and Executive Vice President of Sony Pictures Entertainment 1995-1999.
Also member of Board of Directors of Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. LGF has grown into a premier next
generation content leader with a reputation for innovation under Mr. Feltheimer's leadership. With
over 30 years of experience in the industry, he provided an unparalleled level of strategic and
operational experience to the Board.
Frank Giustra, 57
Director Since: December 2010
Founded Lionsgate in 1997;
Chairman 1997-2003
CEO of Fiore Financial Corporation; director and member of the Corporate Governance Committee,
the Compensation Committee and the Health and Safety Committee of Petromanas Energy Inc.;
director of Endeavour Mining Corp.; director of Catalyst Copper Corp. Member of the Board of
Directors of Eacom Timber Corporation, July 2010 - June 2013; member of the Board of Directors of
Gold Wheaton Gold Corp., July 2008 - March 2011; member of the Board of Directors of Crew Gold
Corporation, February 2010 - September 2010; member of the Board of Directors of Etruscan
Resources Inc., October 2009 - September 2010. Also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bill,
Hillary, Chelsea Clinton Foundation and International Crisis Group; the founder and President of the
Radcliffe Foundation; director of Streetohome Foundation; and trustee of the Boston’s Museum of
Fine Arts. His reputation and relationship with investment community, along with his experience in
the entertainment industry as the founder of LGF provides him to be qualified to be on the Board of
Directors.
Harald Ludwig, 60
Director Since: November 1997 -
December 2004; June 2005 - Now
President and Chief Executive Officer of Macluan Capital Corporation since 1985; director, a
member of the Governance and Nominating Committee and Chairman of the Compensation
Committee of West Fraser Timber Co. Limited; director, Chairman of the Corporate Governance and
Nominating Committee, and member of the Audit and Compensation Committees of Canadian
Overseas Petroleum Limited; director and member of the Conflict Committee of Seaspan
Corporation; director of Prima Columbia Hardwood Inc., 2010-2012; director of West African Iron
Ore Corp., 2011-2013; director of Zattikka plc, 2011-2013. With extensive experience in business
and investment, also being a private equity investor in North America and international private
equity firms, his unique insight and valuable advice provides the Board with critical perspective on
issues the company faces.
18. Dr. John C. Malone, 74
Director Since: March 2015
Chairman of the Board and a director of Liberty Interactive Corporation since 1994; Chairman of the
Board of Liberty Media Corporation since August 2011 and as a director since December 2010;
director of Charter Communications since May 2013; Chairman of the Board of Liberty Global plc
since June 2013; Chairman of the Board of Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings since August 2014; Chairman
of the Board of Liberty Broadband Corporation since November 2014. Liberty Interactive’s Chief
Executive Officer from August 2005 through February 2006. Served as Chairman of the Board of
Liberty Global since June 2013, previously served as Chairman of the Board of Liberty Global, Inc.
Also director of Discovery Communications, Inc. since September 2008. Served as a director of
Discovery Holding Company; served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of DHC,
March 2005 - September 2008 and director of DHC, May 2005 - September 2008. Served as director
of Expedia, Inc. since December 2012, previously served as director, August 2005 - November 2012.
Previously served as director of Ascent Capital Group, Inc.; director of Live Nation Entertainment,
Inc.; Chairman of the Board of DIRECTV; director of IAC/InterActiveCorp.; director of Sirius XM Radio
Inc. Holds a Bachelor’s Degree in electrical engineering and economics from Yale University; a
Master’s Degree in industrial management and a Ph.D. in operations research from Johns Hopkins
University. Dr. Malone is essential to the company for his industry knowledge and unique
perspective with him being one of the preeminent figures in the media and telecommunication
industry.
Scott Paterson, 51
Director Since: November 1997
Chairman of the Audit & Risk
Committee
Media/technology venture capitalist. Previously served as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of
Yorkton Securities Inc. which, during his tenure, was Canada’s leading technology and
entertainment-focused investment bank. Also served as Chairman of the Canadian Venture Stock
Exchange and Vice Chairman of the Toronto Stock Exchange. Obtained an ICD.D designation in 2009
by graduating from the Rotman Institute of Corporate Directors at the University of Toronto.
Obtained a Certificate in Entertainment Law from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2014. Chairman of
Engagement Labs Inc.; Chairman of Apogee Silver Ltd.; and Chairman of QYOU Media Inc. In
addition, Mr. Paterson was instrumental in the evolution of NeuLion Inc., having led the company’s
predecessor company JumpTV as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer through a successful August
2006 $65 million initial public offering and a subsequent February 2007 $100 million secondary
financing. Mr. Paterson’s investment banking background and experience with the Canadian
securities industry, together with his management experience at media/entertainment/technology-
related companies provide the Board with significant operational and financial expertise with
specific application to these industries. His varied service as a director and chairman of other public
companies brings him a wide range of knowledge surrounding strategic transactions, board of
director oversight, corporate responsibility and securities regulations that is valuable to the Board
when considering recommendations and decisions for the Company.
Mark H Rachesky, M.D., 56
Director Since: September 2009
Chairman of the Board, member of
the Strategic Advisory Committee
and member of the Compensation
Committee
Founder and President of MHR Fund Management LLC; holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford University
School of Business, an M.D. from the Stanford University School of Medicine, and a B.A. from the
University of Pennsylvania. Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, member of the
Executive Committee and Chairman of the Compensation Committee of Loral Space &
Communications Inc.; non-executive Chairman of the Board and member of the Compensation &
Corporate Governance Committee of Telesat Canada; non-executive director and member of the
Nominating and Governance Committee and the Compensation Committee of Emisphere
Technologies, Inc.; non-executive director and member of the Nominating and Governance
Committee and Compensation Committee of Titan International, Inc.; and non-executive director
and member of the Nominating and Governance Committee, Co-Chairman of the Finance
Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee of Navistar International Corporation.
Formerly served on the Board of Directors of Neose Technologies, Inc. and NationsHealth, Inc., and
was a director of Leap Wireless International, Inc. until its merger with AT&T in March 2014.
Daryl Simm, 54
Director Since: September 2014
Member of the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee
and member of the Compensation
Committee
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Omnicom Media Group, a division of Omnicom Group, Inc.
Leads one of the industry’s largest media planning and buying groups representing blue-chip global
advertisers that connect their brands to consumers through entertainment content. The agencies he
leads routinely receive accolades as the most effective and creative in their field and he has been
recognized as one of the “100 most influential leaders in marketing, media and tech.” Mr. Simm was
the top media executive at Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest advertiser and a pioneer in the use
of branded entertainment content. His broad experience across the media and content space makes
Mr. Simm well qualified to serve on the Board.
Hardwick Simmons, 75
Director Since: June 2005
Chairman of the Strategic Advisory
Committee and member of the Audit
& Risk Committee
From February 2001 to June 2003, Mr. Simmons served first as Chief Executive Officer and then as
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at The NASDAQ Stock Market Inc. From May 1991 to
December 2000, Mr. Simmons served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Prudential
Securities Incorporated. Currently the Lead Director and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee
of Raymond James Financial (RJF: NYSE). Additionally, from 2007 to 2009, Mr. Simmons was a
director of Geneva Acquisition Corp., a company listed on the American Stock Exchange. Mr.
Simmons, through an accomplished career overseeing one of the largest equity securities trading
markets in the world and other large complex financial institutions, brings important business and
financial expertise to the Board in its deliberations on complex transactions and other financial
matters. In addition, his broad business knowledge, connections in the business community, and
valuable insight regarding investment banking and regulation are relevant to the Board’s oversight
of the Company’s business.
19. Phyllis Yaffe, 66
Director Since: September 2009
Member of the Audit & Risk
Committee and member of the
Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee
Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Alliance Atlantis Communications,
June 2005 - December 2007; Lead Director, the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee
and a member of the Salary and Organization Committee of Torstar Corporation; Chair of the Board
of Cineplex Entertainment LP. Cineplex Inc. owns approximately 99.6% of Cineplex Entertainment
LP. Also director of Astral Media, Inc., 2010-2013; member (former Chair) of the Board of Governors
of Ryerson University; Chair of Women Against Multiple Sclerosis (Canada); member of the Board of
Directors of Blue Ant Media. Ms. Yaffe has extensive experience in the entertainment industry. At
Alliance Atlantis, Ms. Yaffe was responsible for overseeing worldwide operations, including all of its
Canadian specialty television channels, its international television distribution business and the hit
CSI franchise. In 1999, Ms. Yaffe was selected as the Canadian Women in Communications Woman
of the Year, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Film and Television in
April 2000. In 2006, Ms. Yaffe was included in the Women’s Executive Network’s list of Canada’s 100
Most Powerful Women and in November 2007, she was inducted into the Canadian Association of
Broadcasters’ Broadcast Hall of Fame. Ms. Yaffe brings to the Board new broadcast expertise as the
Company continues its successful diversification into television production and broadcasting.
Appendix 2 – Management
Management Position(s) Past Experiences
James W.
Barge
Chief Financial Officer since October 1,
2013
From October 2010 to November 2012. Mr. Barge served as the Executive Vice
President, Chief Financial Officer of Viacom, Inc. (having served as its Executive
Vice President, Controller, Tax and Treasury since January 2008), where he was
responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s global finances and
capital structure, as well as information technology, risk management and
internal audit activities. Prior to joining Viacom, Mr. Barge served as Senior Vice
President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer (from October 2002 to
December 2007) and Vice President and Controller (from February 2000 to
October 2002) of Time Warner Inc., where he was responsible for the
company’s overall financial planning, reporting and analysis, including budgeting
and long range planning, and led several shared service and global process
improvement initiatives. Mr. Barge joined Time Warner in March 1995 as
Assistant Controller. Prior to joining Time Warner, Mr. Barge held several
positions at Ernst & Young, including Area Industry Leader of the Consumer
Products Group and National Office Partner, where he was responsible for the
resolution of SEC accounting and reporting issues.
Steven Beeks
President, Motion Picture Group, since
March 2012, Co-President, Motion
Picture Group, since February 2015,
Chief Operating Officer since April 2007,
Co-Chief Operating Officer since
September 2007, and President of Lions
Gate Entertainment Inc., since
December 2003
From July 2006 to March 2012, Mr. Beeks served as our President, and from
January 1998 to December 2003, as the President of Artisan Home
Entertainment Inc., our wholly owned subsidiary.
Brian
Goldsmith
co-Chief Operating Officer since October
2012, and Executive Vice President,
Corporate Development and Strategy,
from September 2008 to October 2012
Prior to that, Mr. Goldsmith served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief
Financial Officer of Mandate Pictures, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the
Company since September 2007.
Wayne Levin
Chief Strategic Officer since February
2013 and General Counsel since
November 2000.
Previously, Mr. Levin had been our Executive Vice President, Corporate
Operations since February 2004. Mr. Levin had been our Executive Vice
President, Legal and Business Affairs since November 2000. Mr. Levin worked
for Trimark Holdings, Inc. from September 1996 to November 2000, first as
Director of Legal and Business Affairs from 1996 to 1998 and then as General
Counsel and Vice President from 1998 to 2000.
20. Appendix 9 – Corporate Governance
S&P Corporate Governance Scores
Ownership Structure & Influence - 7
All ownerships of LGF are disclosed on the company’s website publicly for anyone to access. Any
updates on the change of ownership are filed with the SEC with the filing posted on the company’s
website. Certain owners of the company display high influence over the board, namely Mark H
Rachesky, who owns 27.2% as of July 2015
Transparency of ownership
Financial Stakeholder Rights & Relations - 9
LGF has a one vote per share policy. Shareholders are regularly solicit for their input, having
approached shareholders representing approximately 60% of our outstanding shares regarding the
Company’s performance, strategic focus and compensation practices over the past year.
Financial Transparency and Information Disclosure - 9
Financial reports and disclosure are accurate and clearly articulated, released in a timely manner,
and readily available for shareholders to access. Board formed Audit & Risk Committee in charge of
the audit process, in addition appointing independent registered public accounting firm Ernst &
Young LLP to overlook the auditing process by the Committee.
Board Structure & Process - 9
Board is comprised of an independent non executive chairman, an executive chief executive Officer,
an executive Vice Chairman, along with nine other independent directors. The board has formed 4
standing committees: Audit & Risk Committee, Compensation Committee, Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee, and Strategic Advisory Committee; with a financial expert
assigned to comply with SEC guidelines and NYSE listing standards. All members in the committee
are independent directors, to be insured that there are no conflict of interest. Executive
compensations are reviewed by a separate committee and overlooked by a compensation
consultant hired externally.
Overall Corporate Governance Score - 8.5
25. Appendix 11 – Porter’s Five Forces for Lionsgate Film
Legend
0 No threat to Lionsgate
1 Insignificant threat to Lionsgate
2 Low threat to Lionsgate
3
4
5
Moderate threat to Lionsgate
Significant threat to Lionsgate
High Threat to Lionsgate
Bargaining Power of Suppliers - Moderate and Increasing: Suppliers are the cast, crew members, writers, and directors
necessary to produce a film or t.v. product. In 2012, the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio
artists merged to create SAG-AFTRA, a powerful union able to negotiate for better compensation for its member, thus increasing
bargaining power. In addition, a high premium must be paid to acquire key talents such as famous actors and actresses,
directors who specialize in certain genres and have a proven history of successful productions, and other key talents with unique
skills. Finally, power is diluted slightly due to recent technology advancement, which allows key players to substitute
traditionally expensive form of film production such as costume and make-up, with computer generated images.
Bargaining Power of Customers – Moderate: Consumers are price sensitive when it comes to discretionary spending. The price
for a movie ticket at the theatre have been steadily rising by nearly 2% for the last five years, which have seen a steady decline
in movie-goers. Large retail chain such as Walmart have continued to drive sales for many film production, which accounts for a
large portion of Lionsgate revenue in particular, but have seen a dramatic decline in physical media sale-through over the past 5
years.
Threat of Substitution- Moderate: There is a high number of substitute products that consumers can choose from. The advent
of the smartphone has unlocked new distribution channels which have given rise to free content from Youtube, and twitch.tv,
which can be consumed on most device with an app or internet access. Strategic plays from Fox, Disney, and NBC have created
their own products to take advantage of the current trend through Hulu. In addition, Substitution will become a greater threat
as the new generation habit, and culture shift towards consuming content from the substitution products and less from
traditional models.
Threat of New Entrants- Moderate and Increasing: The barrier to entry is low for new entrants looking to target the niche
market of creating content for the internet, but a high barrier still exists when it comes to making blockbuster films, which have
the ability to generate heavy profit. This protects the major players in the industry who have the financial backing to create
blockbusters, but doesn’t guarantee box-office success for lesser known films. New entrants are taking advantage of the
segmented market and can profit by producing genuine, original content that draws in the millennial audiences, for example
Pew-Di-Pie, who is a Youtube star, earned around $16 million from his channel.
Degree of Rivalry – Significant: The film industry is diverse in content and genre. This limits rivalry in the industry and major
players have a higher degree of rivalry among each other, while some smaller players can disrupt the rivalry with niche products,
which may not have a blockbuster budget, but can still bring in strong sales relative to their cost. Barrier to exit is low because
there is not a high fixed-cost to exit. Lionsgate is heavily dependent on making blockbuster films to help them produce lower
budget films which are riskier than blockbusters as far as making a profit. This have become a problem in recent history with
The Hunger Game: Mocking Jay Part 2 being released in November, and not meeting the company’s goal because of Star Wars:
The Force Awaken. Currently, Lionsgate is dependent on “Gods of Egypt” and “Divergent: Allegiant” to perform well in theatres
which is risky due to these series not having superior brand recognition compared to “The Hunger Games” series and “Twilight”
series.
0
1
2
3
4
5
Bargaining Power of
Supplier
Bargaining Power of
Buyers
Threat of
Substitution
Threat of New
Entrants
Degree of Rivalry
Porter's Five Forces
27. Appendix 14: Top 10 North American Theatres
Circuit Screens Sites
1. Regal Entertainment Group 7,295 565
2. AMC Entertainment Inc. 4,960 344
3. Cinemark USA, Inc. 4,499 335
4. Carmike Cinemas, Inc. 2,892 280
5. Cineplex Entertainment LP 1,635 161
6. Marcus Theatres Corp. 681 53
7. Harkins Theatres 446 31
8. Southern Theatres LLC 445 39
9. B & B Theatres 409 50
10. National Amusements, Inc. 409 32
Top 10 Total 40389 1890
Top Four Cinema Market Share 19,646 1524
% of total Market Share 0.4864 0.2610
Rest of Theatres 20743 4315
Source: National Association of Theatre Owners
