Subsidiary | |
Industry |
Motion picture Media Publishing |
Founded | 2000 |
Founder | Thomas Tull |
Headquarters | Burbank, California, United States |
Key people
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Parent |
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Divisions | Legendary Pictures Legendary Comics Legendary Television Legendary East Legendary Digital Networks |
Subsidiaries |
Asylum Entertainment Five33 Geek & Sundry Nerdist Industries Amy Poehler's Smart Girls |
Website | www |
Legendary Entertainment (also known as Legendary Pictures or Legendary) is an American media company based in Burbank, California. The company was founded by Thomas Tull in 2000 and in 2005, concluded an agreement to co-produce and co-finance films with Warner Bros., and began a similar arrangement with Universal Studios in 2014. Since 2016, Legendary has been a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group.
Thomas Tull founded Legendary Entertainment after raising $500 million from private equity firms. It was one of the first companies of its kind to pair major motion picture production with major Wall Street private equity and hedge fund investors, including ABRY Partners, AIG Direct Investments, Bank of America Capital Investors, Columbia Capital, Falcon Investment Advisors, and M/C Venture Partners. Legendary Pictures, Inc. was incorporated in California in 2000 and in 2005 it signed an agreement with Warner Bros. to co-produce and co-finance up to 40 films over seven years. In 2010, Tull, Fidelity Investments, and Fortress Investment Group bought all the shares of the original investors. The buyout also included a $25 million-investment by Orange Sky Golden Harvest Entertainment. Following the transaction, Tull became the largest shareholder, thus enabling him to more easily direct the company's operations. Golden Harvest later sold its stake in the company for $30 million. In 2011, Accel Partners bought $40 million-worth of shares and Accel partner Jim Breyer joined the company's board of directors. That same year the company was reported to have been valued at more than $1 billion. In September 2011, Chief Creative Officer Jon Jashni was appointed to the new position of President. In December 2012, Waddell & Reed bought around 20% of Legendary's shares for $443 million.