Hollywood veteran forms new studio

LOS ANGELES- Hollywood veteran Peter Chernin announced Wednesday that he is forming a new studio, betting that the appetite for new content will remain strong despite the pall cast over the streaming industry by Netflix Inc's recent subscriber losses.

The executive, best known for such films as "Ford v Ferrari," the revival of "planet of the Apes" and "Hidden Figures," is creating the North Road Co, to produce movies and television shows for the U.S. and international markets.

The studio will combine Chernin's namesake film and television production company, Chernin Entertainment, with two other studios. It acquired the U.S. operations of Red Arrow Studios, maker of the Netflix reality show "Love is Blind," on June 30 from ProSiebenStat.1 Media SE in a deal that one source valued at $180 million.

Separately, North Road took ownership of words + Pictures, a producer of documentaries, buying out the interest of Chernin Entertainment's cofounder, Connor Schell.

Chernin raised $500 million in equity financing from Providence Equity Partners, and another $300 million in debt financing through managed affiliates of Apollo Advisors, to execute the expansion.