Media mogul John Malone is playing “The Hunger Games.”
The chairman of Liberty Media will join the board of Lions Gate Entertainment, the studio behind the blockbuster franchise, as part of a stock swap deal with his Starz pay-TV service.
Lions Gate will issue new shares to Malone, representing 3.4 percent of its outstanding stock, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday.
In exchange, Lions Gate will get 4.5 percent of Starz’s stock and 14.5 percent of the voting power. Malone will remain Starz’s biggest shareholder with a 6.1 percent stake and 32.1 percent of the voting power.
“Lions Gate has emerged as a leader in developing global content, and this transaction creates the potential for a number of strategic opportunities around the world with them,” Malone said in the statement.
The agreement sets the stage for an even bigger deal down the line. Lions Gate late last year mulled buying Starz, run by former HBO boss Chris Albrecht.
At the time, sources said the talks were at an early stage and included options beyond an outright sale, such as a partnership or asset swaps.
Malone has said Starz, which is increasingly competing with Netflix and other streaming players, would be better off as part of a media company that owns other cable channels.
Shares of Lions Gate, which also produces TV hit “Mad Men” and teen film franchise “Divergent,” jumped 7.85 percent to $32.02 in morning trading.
Starz was up 3.8 percent at $31.86. Malone’s Liberty split off Starz, which includes Starz and Encore premium networks, in 2013.