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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Mar 28, 2018 18:52:45 GMT -6
deadline.com/2018/03/mgm-holdings-chairman-ceo-transition-1202354837/MGM Holdings Says Management Team Will Run The Company MGM Holdings, in its first call with analysts today following the sudden and unexpected ouster of MGM chairman/CEO Gary Barber last week, said the company is being led by a management team through a newly created “Office of the CEO.” Recently installed Chief Operating Officer Chris Brearton said this group of senior leaders is “fully committed” to the company’s mission and its success, and pointedly thanked the board for the confidence it placed in senior management. The group will lead the company until a permanent CEO is found. There is no timeline for the search. The COO sought to reassure partners that the company is well-positioned for growth, with its acquisition of EPIX, the re-launch of Orion Pictures and its re-entry into theatrical distribution with a “robust and diversified film slate.” “While I recently joined MGM as COO I’ve worked closely with the company for two decades,” Brearton said. “I’m thrilled to capitalize on growth ahead.” Barber had been at the helm since getting the studio out of bankruptcy in 2010. Sources told Deadline last week that the reason for Barber’s firing really came down to a disagreement on the direction of the company between chairman of the board Kevin Ulrich and the MGM exec. Ulrich, we were told, did not want a sale and Barber thought it would be good to entertain offers for one. A spokesman for MGM Holdings noted that the decision to push Barber out was made by the full board and was unanimous. Ulrich’s New York investment firm Anchorage Capital Group is the largest owner of MGM with a 34% stake, which came when their debt was turned to equity during the 2010 bankruptcy. News of Barber’s departure was shocking and employees across divisions were upset over it. It also came as the studio was putting together another film from its most important IP: James Bond. Also today, MGM Holdings released its year-end financial results. The company reported revenue of $1.3 billion, up 10% from a year ago. Adjusted earnings of $422.9 million grew 5% from a year ago’s earnings of $401.1 million. The results were bolstered by such popular television shows as the Emmy-winning Hulu series The Handmaid’s Tale, the History channel series Vikings, The FX show Fargo and NBC’s The Voice. Overall, television licensing revenue for 2017 was up 38% to $333.5 million, an increase of $91.6 million from a year earlier. Theatrical revenue was a mere $13.4 million for the year. Most of MGM’s film revenue came from television licensing, which brought in $464.2 million. That figure was down $56.2 million from a year ago, when the studio sold international pay TV rights to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Mar 28, 2018 20:48:38 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mgm-unveils-new-management-team-ousting-ceo-1098173MGM COO Talks New Studio Leadership, Remains Silent on CEO Ouster "We are all energized and focused in executing on our priority growth initiatives,” newly installed COO Chris Brearton told analysts. MGM on Wednesday remained silent on its recent leadership shake-up that saw Gary Barber leave the Hollywood studio as CEO and chairman of MGM. "We are eager to focus today’s call on our strong year-end results. We will not be addressing questions about Gary's departure," newly installed COO Chris Brearton told analysts during a conference call that followed the release of the studio's year-end results. Brearton added that MGM would move forward with a management team led by an unspecified senior leadership team, as he revealed "we are running the company with a group of senior leaders and division heads through a newly created Office of the CEO." Brearton added the MGM board of directors had "empowered" the senior leadership team to partner and drive "greater collaboration across the company." The exec said that the studio had reached out to its business partners and reported back that "MGM's commercial relationships remain strong.” Breaton and senior executives at the same time provided no explanation for Barber's ouster after he guided MGM's comeback in recent years. Barber arrived at the company in 2010 after the once-storied studio emerged from bankruptcy. In October, Barber re-upped with MGM and extended his contract for five years, through December 2022, making his exit a surprise for Hollywood. "We are all energized and focused in executing on our priority growth initiatives,” Brearton told analysts. For the year to Dec. 31, 2017, MGM Holdings reported overall revenues rising 10 percent to $1.3 billion, with business growth driven by the acquisition of Epix and MGM's TV content business, which includes production of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale. Adjusted earnings for fiscal 2017 were up 5 percent to $422.9 million, compared to a year-earlier $401.1 million. Full-year net income rose sharply to $549 million, as the studio gained from the recent overhaul of the U.S. corporate tax system.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Mar 28, 2018 21:33:54 GMT -6
variety.com/2018/film/news/mgm-reveals-new-management-structure-wont-address-gary-barber-firing-1202738620/MGM Reveals New Management Structure, Won’t Address CEO’s Firing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer will be run by a management team of senior executives following the firing of CEO Gary Barber. The announcement came as the studio behind the James Bond films and TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale” revealed robust earnings for 2017. The executives will operate under a newly created and christened “Office of the CEO.” “We are all energized and focused in executing on our priority growth initiative,” said Chief Operating Officer Chris Brearton in an earnings call with investors on Wednesday. He added that the company’s business partners have been reached out to and reassured after Barber’s ouster, and stressed that “MGM’s commercial relationships remain strong.” On paper, the studio’s financial situation is healthy. Revenues grew 10% for the year to $1.3 billion, while earnings per-share topped out at $4.72, a 9% increase. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 5% to $423 million, and net income hit $549 million, which was $393 million higher than the prior year. “We are eager to focus today’s call on our strong year-end results,” Brearton said. “We will not be addressing questions about Gary’s departure.” MGM attributed the strong results to the consolidation of its control of the cable channel Epix (it had been a joint venture with Paramount and Lionsgate), as well as licensing fees from its television programming, a slate that includes “The Voice” and “Vikings.” The company also touted the relaunch of Orion Pictures, a long-dormant film label once associated with such hits as “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Dances With Wolves.” It reminded investors that a new Bond movie is scheduled to hit theaters in 2019. Barber’s departure stunned Hollywood, both because of its suddenness and because he had recently signed a new five-year deal. He is credited with helping MGM emerge from bankruptcy eight years ago, cleaning up its finances, and relaunching the Bond franchise. However, Barber ran afoul with Kevin Ulrich, chairman-CEO of MGM majority owner Anchorage Capital Group and the head of the studio’s board, over their visions for the future. Barber was more inclined to find someone to buy MGM, whereas Ulrich was more interested in building up the company. There were also concerns that Barber lacked creative chops and that he was not facilitating enough collaboration between MGM’s film and television operations. Brearton stressed that things had changed with the new management. “The board has empowered this talented group of leaders to partner with one another and to lead the company with a mission to drive greater collaboration across the organization,” he said. “We are fully committed to the mission and co-invested in each other’s success.”
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