The Entertainment One Income Fund said Friday that investors in the CD, DVD and video-game distributor have accepted a private-equity takeover valued at $188-million including $68-million in assumed debt.
The bid from a unit of London-based Marwyn Investment Management LLP was approved by more than 98 per cent of unitholders.
The $3.60-per-unit transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the month, after which Entertainment One's U.S. and Canadian operations are to be listed on London's AIM small-company exchange as Entertainment One Ltd.
Marwyn Investment Management has said it plans no job cuts or executive changes and intends to expand the business internationally.
Entertainment One, formerly ROW Entertainment and before that Records on Wheels Ltd., is Canada's largest distributor of DVDs, CDs and video games to retailers and last year purchased Koch Entertainment, a large U.S. music and video distributor.
It lost $39.6-million in the fourth quarter including a $51.1-million asset writedown, as sales declined to $165.5-million compared with $188.5-million a year earlier.
The trust's units were issued at $10 each in November, 2003, but began a long decline in early 2005 and were worth $2.70 before management's Feb. 14 announcement of the deal to sell the enterprise.
The fund's trustees will hold 3 cents per unit of the sale proceeds in reserve until tax and regulatory processes are completed.