CANNES, France, May 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Monica,
CA-based WWE Studios has closed on a revolving credit facility
worth $35 million with Bank of
America Merrill Lynch (BofAML). The deal comes after a
multi-year successful run by the production company.
With this new arrangement, WWE Studios expects to extend and
grow their partnership base, which already includes Warner Bros.,
Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox. The proceeds of the
facility will allow WWE Studios to execute further on its key
strategy for long-term growth, increasing the number of mid-size
budgets films, similar to The Call and Oculus, on its
slate. The funds will also go toward the expansion of the
acquisition slate.
"WWE Studios is an amazing brand with a history of creating
content with fascinating characters and storylines," said
Randy Hua, senior vice president of
Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "This new facility will provide WWE
Studios the capacity to build on the momentum from the last several
years by producing and acquiring more branded and genre
films. The various platforms and global reach of both BofAML
and WWE creates the perfect collaboration."
"This new relationship with Bank of America Merrill Lynch gives
us the opportunity to be involved in higher profile films and
expand talent relationships," said Michael
Luisi, President, WWE Studios. "Our audience craves
larger-than-life stories, and we're looking forward to using this
new facility to bring even more of those stories to the big
screen."
"The credit facility enhances WWE's financial flexibility and is
consistent with WWE's film strategy and planned investment levels
as previously communicated," said George
Barrios, WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Officer.
With all new productions and ventures, WWE Studios will leverage
WWE's extensive platforms from weekly TV shows, including WWE's
flagship programs, Monday Night Raw® and
SmackDown®, to digital, social media, and the WWE
Network, to market and promote its titles.
WWE Studios most recently launched a new label, Erebus Pictures,
with media mogul Gene Simmons, which
is set to finance and produce elevated horror movies.
WWE Studios titles include The Call with Halle Berry and WWE Superstar David Otunga®,
Oculus directed by Mike
Flanagan starring Karen
Gillan and Katee Sackhoff, Dead Man Down
starring Colin Farrell, Noomi
Rapace, Terrence Howard and
featuring WWE Superstar Bad News Barrett®, The
Marine franchise featuring WWE Superstars John Cena®, The Miz® and
WWE Diva Summer Rae®, and Scooby-Doo!
WrestleMania® Mystery, which paired animated
versions of WWE Superstars with Scooby and the gang. Upcoming
releases include Incarnate with Blumhouse
Pictures starring Aaron Eckhart
and featuring WWE Superstar Mark
Henry®, and a sequel to Scooby-Doo!
WrestleMania Mystery starring WWE Legend Hulk
Hogan®.
Negotiations were handled by Bradley
Buchanan from WWE Studios together with Robert Wyman from Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, and
by Randy Hua and Daniel Timmons from Bank of America Merrill
Lynch as well as Ken Deutsch and
Chris Brearton from Latham &
Watkins.
About WWE® STUDIOS
WWE®
Studios develops and produces feature films, as well as television
and digital content. Its diverse slate is released theatrically,
direct to home, and/or across digital platforms, and is co-produced
& distributed through partnerships with premiere global
entertainment companies. WWE's film division, led by President
Michael Luisi, is headquartered in
Santa Monica, CA. Recent
films from WWE® Studios include The Marine 4:
Moving Target starring WWE Superstar The Miz® and
WWE Diva Summer Rae®, The Flintstones and WWE:
Stone Age Smack Down which
joins Fred, Barney and the whole Bedrock gang with stone age
versions of WWE Superstars and Divas, The Call with
Halle Berry and WWE Superstar
David
Otunga®, Oculus directed by
Mike Flanagan starring Karen Gillan and Katee Sackhoff, Dead
Man Down with Colin Farrell and WWE Superstar Wade Barrett®, No One
Lives starring Luke Evans,
and Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery, which paired WWE
Superstars with Scooby and the gang. WWE Studios launched genre
label EREBUS PICTURES with KISS Icon Gene Simmons. Upcoming
films from WWE® Studios
include Incarnate starring Aaron Eckhart and featuring WWE Superstar
Mark
Henry®, Killing
Hasselhoff starring Ken
Jeong, David Hasselhoff and
featuring WWE Legend Hulk Hogan, Vendetta starring
Dean Cain and WWE Superstar Big Show
and directed by the Soska Sisters, Lockdown starring
WWE Superstar Dean
Ambrose®, The Condemned 2 starring
WWE Superstar Randy
Orton®, and Santa's Little Helper starring WWE
Superstar The Miz® and WWE Diva
Paige®.
About Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial
institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market
businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking,
investing, asset management and other financial and risk management
products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience
in the United States, serving
approximately 48 million consumer and small business relationships
with approximately 4,800 retail financial centers and approximately
15,900 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 31 million active
users and approximately 17 million mobile users. Bank of America is
among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a
global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading
across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations,
governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of
America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million
small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use
online products and services. The company serves clients through
operations in all 50 states, the District
of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, Puerto Rico and
more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE:
BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the marketing name for the
global banking and global markets businesses of Bank of America
Corporation. Lending, derivatives, and other commercial banking
activities are performed globally by banking affiliates of Bank of
America Corporation, including Bank of America, N.A., member FDIC.
Securities, strategic advisory, and other investment banking
activities are performed globally by investment banking affiliates
of Bank of America Corporation ("Investment Banking Affiliates"),
including, in the United States,
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, which is a
registered broker-dealer and a member of SIPC, and, in other
jurisdictions, locally registered entities. Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Merrill Lynch Professional
Clearing Corp. are registered as futures commission merchants with
the CFTC and are members of the NFA. Investment products offered by
Investment Banking Affiliates: Are Not FDIC Insured * May Lose
Value * Are Not Bank Guaranteed.
About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE),
is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global
entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses
that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a
global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment
on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and
publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 650 million
homes worldwide in 35 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7
over-the-top premium network that includes all 12 live
pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand
library, is currently available in more than 175 countries. The
company is headquartered in Stamford,
Conn., with offices in New
York, Los Angeles,
London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich
and Tokyo.
Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at
wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global
activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.
Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images,
likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and
copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries.
All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of
their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release
contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which
are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and
uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating to: WWE
Network; major distribution agreements; our need to continue to
develop creative and entertaining programs and events; a decline in
the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the continued
importance of key performers and the services of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in
the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives;
the highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly
fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and greater
financial resources or marketplace presence of many of our
competitors; uncertainties associated with international markets;
our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events
and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable
regulations; our dependence on our intellectual property rights,
our need to protect those rights, and the risks of our infringement
of others' intellectual property rights; the complexity of our
rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical
areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or
injuries occurring during our physically demanding events
including, without limitation, claims relating to CTE; large public
events as well as travel to and from such events; our feature film
business; our expansion into new or complementary businesses and/or
strategic investments; our computer systems and online operations;
a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in
financial markets; our accounts receivable; our revolving credit
facility; litigation; our potential failure to meet market
expectations for our financial performance, which could
adversely affect our stock; Vincent K.
McMahon exercising control over our affairs, and his
interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common
stock; a substantial number of shares which are eligible for sale
by the McMahons and the sale, or the perception of possible sales,
of those shares could lower our stock price; and the relatively
small public "float" of our Class A common stock. In addition, our
dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among
other things, our liquidity and cash flow, strategic plan
(including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and
condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of
dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general
economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our
Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking
statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made, are
subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company
to update or revise them, and undue reliance should not be placed
on these statements.
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SOURCE WWE Studios