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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry |
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| Predecessor | Saban Entertainment |
| Founded | October 24, 2001; 24 years ago (2001-10-24) |
| Founder | Haim Saban |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, U.S.Jerusalem,Israel |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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| Products | |
| Divisions |
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| Subsidiaries |
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| Website | www |
Saban Capital Group LLC is an Americaninvestment company based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment and communications. Formed on October 24, 2001 byHaim Saban, Saban Capital Group ownsSaban Films,[1][2] and co-ownsCelestial Tiger Entertainment.[3][4]
In October 2006, SCG's Saban Entertainment Group division announced the beginning of its virtual studio program for starting up and developing family entertainment.[5] In March 2007,Univision Communications was sold to Broadcasting Media Partners which includes Saban Capital Group,Madison Dearborn Partners,Providence Equity Partners,TPG Capital, andThomas H. Lee Partners.[6] On October 17, 2011, Saban Capital Group acquired 7.5% stake in Jakarta-based Indonesian largest integrated media company,Media Nusantara Citra.[7][8][9] In July 2012, Saban Capital Group acquired minority stake in PT MNC Sky Vision Tbk, the largest pay-TV operator in Indonesia which ownsIndovision and Top TV.[10] In June 2012, Kidsco Media Ventures LLC, a SCG affiliate, jointly withKonami's 4K Acquisition Corp. purchased some of the key assets of4Kids Entertainment with Kidsco getting theDragon Ball Z Kai,Cubix,Sonic X and The CW Network's Saturday Morning programming block contract rights.[11] In August 2012, Saban Capital Group launched a new music publishing division called "Music Ventures".[12]
On September 13, 2018,Saban Capital Acquisition Corp. announced the purchase ofPanavision andSim Video International in a $622 million cash and stock deal.[13] The transaction was aimed at creating a comprehensive production and post-production entity. Saban Capital Acquisition Corp. proposed a change of name to Panavision Holdings Inc., but expected to continue to trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange.[14] Saban ended up terminating its deal to acquire Panavision on March 1, 2019.[15]
On May 5, 2010, Saban Capital Group announced that it would startSaban Brands (SB), a successor company to Saban Entertainment (later known asBVS Entertainment) dedicated to acquiring entertainment and consumer brands.[1] On May 12 the same year, 2010, Saban Brands bought back thePower Rangers franchise and some of its some related shows fromthe Walt Disney Company for $43 million[18] and would produce a new nineteenth season of Power Rangers that began airing onNickelodeon on February 7, 2011, with the previous 700 episodes being rerun onNicktoons.[2][19]
In February 2018, Saban Brands appointedHasbro as the global master toy licensee forPower Rangers beginning in April 2019 with a future option to purchase the franchise.[20] On May 1, 2018, Saban agreed to sellPower Rangers and other entertainment assets to Hasbro for US$522 million in cash and stock, with the sale expected to close in the second quarter. Other properties in the deal includedMy Pet Monster,Popples,Julius Jr.,Luna Petunia,Treehouse Detectives and Saban Brands' content/media libraries[21][22] (excludingRainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty,Sonic X and other properties that were sold to different companies before the deal). Saban'sDigimon andPretty Cure licenses were also transferred to Hasbro, although were later left to expire, thus reverting toToei Animation Inc. for its international distribution. Only nine existing employees out of sixty would be retained by SCG, and the Saban Brands subsidiary ended operations upon the closure of business on July 2, 2018.[23]
On May 6, 2014, ahead of that year'sCannes Film Festival, Saban announced the launch of an acquisitions label namedSaban Films to acquire yearly 8 to 10 feature films for the North American market.[24]
The Saban Group is a top contributor to theDemocratic Party. It has donated to former PresidentBarack Obama's campaign[26] and was one of the top donors of the Clinton Campaign of 2016 with a contribution of approximately $12 million.[27]
