Veteran Hollywood executives Jeff Sagansky and Harry Sloan are launching Double Eagle Acquisition Corp. with a $500 million initial public offering.
It’s the third such acquisition vehicle that the duo has developed since 2011, following Global Eagle Acquisition and Silver Eagle Acquisition. Global Eagle moved into in-flight entertainment holdings and Silver Eagle bought a 38% stake in Indian pay-TV service provider Videocon d2h.
In both cases, the acquisition vehicles invested in industries that were transitioning into the digital arena.
Double Eagle announced the pricing of the offering of 50 million units at $10 per unit, including 2 million units to be sold to the underwriters. Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one half of one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $5.75 per half share.
The units are listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market and trade under the ticker symbol “EAGLU.” Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are expected to be listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbols “EAGL” and “EAGLW,” respectively.
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Double Eagle was formed for the purpose of combining with one or more businesses through a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination. Its efforts will be focused on, but not limited to, the media and entertainment industries.
Double Eagle’s sponsor is Double Eagle Acquisition LLC, of which Sagansky is the managing member. The team includes CFO James Graf, who served in that capacity at Global Eagle and Silver Eagle, and Eli Baker, who joins as VP, general counsel and secretary.
Sloan, who co-led the two prior public acquisition vehicles, is a major founding investor. Deutsche Bank Securities and Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as joint bookrunners for the offering, with Sterne Agee CRT and I-Bankers serving as co-managers.
Sloan and Sagansky unveiled Global Eagle Acquisition in 2011 and that entity moved into in-flight entertainment in 2012 by acquiring two companies — U.S.-based broadband service Row 44 and Germany-based content supplier Advanced Inflight Alliance — in a transaction valued at $430 million.
They closed a $273 million deal through Silver Eagle in April for the 38.3% stake in Videocon d2h.
Sloan served as chairman and CEO of MGM between 2005 and 2009 prior to the completion of its restructuring via a pre-packaged bankruptcy. He was also the founder, chairman and CEO of SBS Broadcasting, which had Europe’s second-largest broadcast footprint.
Sagansky worked for three decades in show business, including serving as president of CBS Entertainment between 1990 and 1994, and as CEO of Paxson Communications from 1998 to 2003.
