Veteran Hollywood executives Jeff Sagansky and Harry Sloan are launching Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp. with a $400 million initial public offering.
Diamond Eagle Acquisition is the fifth public acquisition vehicle since 2011 launched by Sagansky and Sloan. These kind of acquisition companies have gained in popularity in recent years as a means for investors to participate in new players in the media and digital sector — particularly with rivals emerging to Netflix in streaming technology.
Their other companies — Global Eagle Acquisition, Silver Eagle Acquisition, Double Eagle Acquisition and Platinum Eagle — raised a combined $1.6 billion for investment purposes. Diamond Eagle will be looking to invest in media companies as did Global Eagle, which moved into in-flight entertainment holdings, and Silver Eagle, which bought a 38% stake in Indian pay-TV service provider Videocon d2h.
The IPO included 40 million units at $10 per unit. Each unit issued in the initial public offering consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share.
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The units will be listed on the Nasdaq and trade under the ticker symbol “DEACU.” Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the shares of Class A common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “DEAC” and “DEACW,” respectively.
Diamond Eagle said its efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. It said Friday that it will look for businesses that can benefit from its management team’s established global relationships and operating experience. Diamond Eagle’s sponsor is Eagle Equity Partners, which includes Eli Baker, who served as president, chief financial officer and secretary of Sagansky’s prior public acquisition vehicles.
Deutsche Bank Securities and Goldman Sachs are acting as the representatives of the underwriters for the offering and Northland Capital Markets served as a manager.
Sloan served as chairman and CEO of MGM between 2005 and 2009 prior to the completion of its restructuring via a pre-packaged bankruptcy. He was also the founder, chairman and CEO of SBS Broadcasting, Europe’s second-largest broadcaster.
Sagansky worked for three decades in show business, including serving as president of CBS Entertainment between 1990 and 1994, and as CEO of Paxson Communications from 1998 to 2003.