Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Relativity Media, a film financier and movie distributor, was rebuffed in a last-minute bid for Maker Studios, the YouTube video creator that agreed to be bought by The Walt Disney Co. last month.
On Sunday, privately held Relativity offered cash and stock worth $525 million for Maker, plus up to $500 million in cash and stock if performance targets were met. Relativity also offered stock worth up to $75 million to key Maker talent and executives who did not have a stake in Maker.
Maker said Monday that its board and the majority of its shareholders had approved the sale to Disney and it expects that deal to close in the next few weeks.
Maker's deal with Disney was for $500 million in cash plus $450 million for meeting performance goals.
In a statement, Relativity spokesman David Shane said its offer was "compelling" and Maker would have benefited from Relativity's platform and entrepreneurial approach.
"We will continue to aggressively explore future opportunities" in creating and distributing digital content, Shane said.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
