Yahoo Finance Range Media Partners Secures Growth Capital From Liberty Global, TPG Chair David Bonderman and Others
Liberty Global and the family office run by TPG chairman David Bonderman have made a minority investment in Range Media Partners as the management and production firm brings in new capital to drive growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions.
The investment will help the four-year-old Range solidify its operations in the U.S. while allowing it to grow in new markets. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.
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Since its launch in late summer of 2020, Range has sought to build a busy management firm and content development operation spanning TV, film, digital, music, sports and brands. Its initial partners included Steven A. Cohen’s Point72 Ventures and A+E Networks. Over the past year, Range solidified its film activities by merging with the busy production company Automatik, revved up growth at Range Sports including acquiring companies and expertise in the areas of media rights, athlete marketing and golf. It also continued to expand the Range Music division with the launch of a Music Publishing arm and with the opening of a Nashville office.
“We founded Range with the express intention to build a multi-vertical, full-service offering, one that extends beyond the traditional business of film & TV representation in order to catapult client careers and ambitions through the broader entertainment & media landscape as well as through technology and diversified ventures,” stated Peter Micelli, CEO of Range. “We saw the dynamic changes happening, our clients were feeling them through the ripple effect, and we wanted to be more aggressive in how we could advantageously leverage those changes accordingly.”
The investor group is comprised of affiliates of Liberty Global and an investment fund advised by Bonderman’s Wildcat Capital Management, as well as CAA and Evolution Media Capital alum Rick Hess. The fundraise was led by Forest Road Asset Management LLC and included an investment from Playground Productions, described as a STEM-focused family entertainment firm led by former Chicago public school teacher Lindsay Barnett.
“Liberty Global, one of the most widely respected industry leaders worldwide, along with Wildcat Capital Management and Playground Productions are ideal strategic partners for Range’s next stage of growth. We have been very deliberate during this process, wanting to find top-tier, blue-chip partners who have a unique perspective on our industry and are as committed as we are to an innovative long-term strategy to unlock global value for our clients,” Range Media Partners managing partner Jack Whigham said. “We are honored to move into this transformative phase with Liberty Global, along with the other first-rate financial sponsors, at our side to continue to meaningfully diversify our business through investment & acquisition.”
As part of the investment, Hess has been appointed to serve on Range’s governing body as Forest Road’s representative. ACF Investment Bank advised the investor group and Greenberg Traurig served as its legal counsel. Cooley served as legal counsel to Liberty, while Range was represented by Jones Day.
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