DEAL OF THE YEAR – $100 MILLION – $500 MILLION HONOREE:
Alcon Media Group acquires Village Roadshow Entertainment Group USA
BUYER: ALCON MEDIA GROUP
SELLER: VILLAGE ROADSHOW ENTERTAINMENT GROUP USA
DEAL TEAM:Accordion; Loeb & Loeb; Morrison Foerster; Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones; Sheppard; SOLIC Capital Advisors
Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, the acclaimed Hollywood producer and financier behind worldwide blockbusters including “Joker,” “The Great Gatsby,” the “Ocean’s” series, “Sully,” “The LEGO Movie,” and the “Matrix” trilogy‚ entered Chapter 11 in March 2025. Despite an extraordinary track record, two compounding issues led to financial distress: a protracted arbitration with Warner Bros. that generated over $18 million in largely unpaid legal fees and eliminated a critical revenue stream, and a failed foray into independent film and television production that consumed approximately $47.5 million in development expenses on projects that were either never produced or never profitable. As of the petition date, Village Roadshow’s capital structure included approximately $223.8 million outstanding under an ABS facility, $157.3 million in senior secured notes, and $5.8 million in bridge facility notes, for total secured debt of approximately $386.9 million. The company entered bankruptcy with only $148,000 in unrestricted cash on hand. Sheppard, alongside investment banker SOLIC Capital Advisors, Chief Restructuring Officer Keith Maib of Accordion, and co-counsel Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, orchestrated three sequential Section 363 sale processes. Alcon Media Group emerged as the winning bidder across all three, paying $417.5 million for the film library, $18.5 million for the derivative rights assets, and $4.25 million for the studio business. Total proceeds exceeded $440 million, enabling full recovery for certain creditor classes and an 85% recovery for general unsecured creditors of the non-library debtors.
