Greetings to Crown
Feevee op to buy 700 titles in Hallmark library
The Colorado pay TV operator said the Hallmark deal offers "a unique opportunity to acquire a scarce and valuable asset which allows greater flexibility in programming our channels and increases the scale and diversification of Crown."
Crown announced last month it planned to acquire 700 titles from Hallmark Entertainment's film library for $820 million, including the assumption of $220 million of debt.
Hallmark Entertainment, a unit of Hallmark, owns 47% of Crown Media. It will own 65% when the deal is closed.
Crown said it plans to file a registration statement with the SEC in June for a securities offering of up to $500 million. It also intends to arrange a $120 million line of credit with a bank group to help pay for the purchase.
(Dow Jones contributed to this story.)
