Last year, Eros International had merged with Hollywood production company STX Entertainment, to create a potentially exciting Hollywood-Bollywood partnership. The new joint company, Eros STX Global Corp was expected to become a “truly global play, building a powerhouse between East and West.” Now, only after a year of partnership, Eros International has sold STX Entertainment to The Najafi Companies for $173 million.
Eros International has the largest collection of Indian content in the world, with 12000 titles in its library. It expected its partnership with STX Entertainment to help the merged company to reach newer heights in global content, including in the streaming business. However, the pandemic put paid to those plans.
The deal with The Najafi Companies will also entail paying off STX Entertainment’s debt of $148 million. The Forest Road Company has come on board as lenders to The Najafi Companies, to repay STX Entertainment’s outstanding debt, and also to provide working capital for the near future. Eros International expects to close the deal by the end of January 2022.
Interestingly, Eros International also has a 45-day “go-shop” period in place, during which it can explore better offers for STX Entertainment than the one proposed by The Najafi Companies. Should this happen, Eros will have to pay a termination fee of $4.5 million to Najafi, in addition to the $2 million that Najafi has paid as deposit money.
Jahm Najafi is the founder and CEO of The Najafi Companies. The company has interests in consumer, media, talent-driven brands, e-commerce, tech and sports.