Netflix is denying a report that it’s interested in buying Lionsgate — the movie studio behind the “John Wick” and “Hunger Games” franchises — after it purportedly lost out on acquiring streaming giant Roku to Fox Corp.
Semafor reported Tuesday that Netflix is one of a number of media companies eyeing Lionsgate, though the Los Gatos, Calif.-based firm has not put in a formal indication of interest yet. Shares of Lionsgate jumped nearly 11% in midday trading.
But the streaming giant denied it has any such interest in a statement to The Post.
“Netflix is not interested and is not pursuing Lionsgate,” a rep said.
To date, Netflix, home to “Stranger Things,” “Bridgerton” and “The Crown,” has preferred to grow from within rather than expand through large acquisitions.
A rep for Netflix said the streamer “did not put in a formal bid for Roku.”
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch announced Monday that the company was acquiring Roku for about $22 billion. Fox Corp. is sister company to The Post’s corporate parent News Corp.
Neflix, meanwhile, produces original shows and films and competes with the biggest channels available on Roku, like Disney’s streamers and Comcast’s Peacock, sources noted.
In the past, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has described the company’s approach to M&A as “disciplined.”
It declined to raise its $82.7 billion offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery in February, losing a protracted bidding war to Paramount Skydance, which offered $110 billion.
In Netflix’s earnings call in April, Sarandos said during the pursuit of WBD, “We really built our M&A muscle.”
“We’ve learned so much about deal execution, about early integration,” he added.
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