Warner Bros. TV Group to Acquire Alloy Entertainment

Alloy president Leslie Morgenstein will stay on

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/11/2012 3:12:22 PM

Warner Bros. Television Group has signed a deal to acquire to Alloy Entertainment from an investor group led by ZelnickMedia.

The deal brings together one of the biggest television production companies and a leading producer in youth-oriented content. Alloy and Warner Bros. TV Group have already collaborated on five series -- The CW's Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries, ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game and ABC's upcoming 666 Park Avenue.

Leslie Morgenstein, who has been president of Alloy -- and its predecessor, 17th Street Productions, Inc. -- since 1999, will remain to run the company within Warner Bros. TV Group.

Alloy will continue to collaborate on production and distribution of original digital programming with former sister division, Alloy Digital. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to occur in the third calendar quarter.

"The Warner Bros. Television Group and Alloy have enjoyed consistent success together on a number of terrific projects over the last decade," said Bruce Rosenblum, president, WBTVG.  "Alloy Entertainment's creative and talented team of executives have a unique ability to tap into a young female audience and create content that resonates across multiple platforms. By having them join us as part of our Television Group, we are giving Peter Roth and his team, as well as the other producers of content across our company, the exclusive ability to tap into Alloy Entertainment's wellspring of proven literary creativity."        

Macquarie Capital and O'Melveny & Myers LLP served as WBTVG's advisors while Allen & Company LLC and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as Alloy, Inc.'s advisors in this transaction.