Mad Men and Hunger Games help drive Alliance Trust returns

The soaring share price of Lions Gate Entertainment and Disney's $4bn acquisition of Lucasfilm demonstrate the increasing power of content providers, according to Alliance Trust Asset Management's Justin Atkinson.

On Monday Disney announced it was to acquire Lucasfilm, maker of the Stars Wars films, for $4.05bn in its biggest takeover in seven years. Lions Gate, meanwhile, has seen its share price soar by 100% year-to-date as investors anticipate further benefits arising from the company's film franchises. Atkinson, who works on the Alliance Trust North American Equity fund with manager Matthew Strachan, said the team considered Lions Gate - the company behind advertising drama Mad Men and the burgeoning Hunger Games film franchise - to be a technology play because of the new ways viewers are n...