Range Media Partners just raised big $$ from Liberty Global, Wildcat Capital Management.
It's an M&A warchest so they don’t fall behind their peers.?
Let’s break it down…
BACKGROUND ON RANGE
? Mgmt and prod co founded in 2020 by Peter Micelli and other top agents from CAA / WME / UTA
? Goal = extend beyond trad film / TV representation
? Has expanded into music, sports, gaming, digital, music pub
M&A + CAP MARKETS HISTORY
? Merged with film / TV prod co Automatik in Jan 2023
? Bought upstart athlete mgmt co Stoked Management Group in Sep 2023
? Existing investors incl Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures and A+E Networks (also has prod deal)
NEW INVESTMENT
? Last week closed significant minority investment by John Malone’s Liberty Global, TPG founder’s Wildcat Capital, and family entertainment co Playground Productions
? Former CAA film finance exec Rick Hess, and The Forest Road Company were also involved (either as investors or advisors, can’t tell exactly from press release)
? Use of Funds: M&A, scale in US, int’l growth, add more talent rep and prod services
What you need to know about this deal ??...
It's not surprising when you consider all the other fundraising and M&A amongst Range’s peers in talent representation.?
The influx of capital and high dealmaking volume is driven by a belief that outsized returns will go to rep firms who are fastest to scale, in a winner-take-most market.
Because scale makes it easier to sign more talent clients, work with the largest brand marketers, hire the best talent agents and managers, package up the largest Hollywood projects, and launch the most exciting new talent-led ventures.
Particularly in a world where scaled access to audience (which talent and influencers bring in a post ATT world) is the top driver in capturing share of high-growth IM spend, which is est at $7B in 2024, up 15% YoY.
So it’s a race to the top.
And that race is being fueled by large M&A war chests from big investor backers…
Companies to watch here are:
- Crestview-backed Gersh (just bought A3’s digital team)
- Coral Tree-backed Loaded (just bought GG Talent)
- Providence-backed Wasserman (13 deals in 2 years)
- TCG-backed Night (just bought LFM and Roost Podcast Network)
- The big 3: CAA, UTA, Endeavor
And after last week, I expect Range Media to ramp up its acquisition activity. Particularly in athlete and digital-native representation.
Curious to see what they do next with the $$. Will definitely add them to our buyers list as we bring more deals to market.
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I’m the founder of?RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open.
#media #agency #creatoreconomy
