Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are looking to sell their Imagine Entertainment banner, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The company has retained JP Morgan for strategic guidance. The sale could allow global merchant bank Raine Group, Imagine’s main investor since 2016, to exit. Imagine is profitable, but its revenue and potential sale value are unknown, according to the WSJ report.
Imagine Entertainment has considered selling before. In 2022, it discussed selling a majority stake to Centricus, a London investment firm, for $600-800 million, according to the WSJ report. The deal didn’t happen. At that time, Imagine reportedly earned about $30 million in cash yearly.
Last year, Imagine Entertainment signed a first look deal with Amazon MGM. Under the pact, Amazon Studios will have a first look on narrative features and documentaries Imagine Entertainment intends to produce.
Earlier this spring, Amazon MGM acquired the Imagine Entertainment thriller “After the Hunt,” which has Luca Guadagnino attached to direct with Julia Roberts in the lead role.
That script was written by newcomer Nora Garrett, who will also serve as executive producer, “After the Hunt” will see Roberts play a college professor whose life is upended when one of her star pupils makes a startling accusation against one of her colleagues, threatening to reveal a dark secret.
Allan Mandelbaum, who brought the film to Imagine and worked with CAA to get Guadagnino and Roberts on board, will produce alongside Guadagnino and Brian Grazer.