Media & Entertainment Acquisitions in 2020

Searchlight Capital Partners and ForgeLight acquired an approximately 64% majority ownership interest in Univision Holdings, Inc., with Grupo Televisa retaining about 36% and converting warrants into common stock. Wade Davis (ForgeLight) becomes Univision CEO as the new owners plan to deepen engagement with U.S. Hispanic audiences, expand digital capabilities and accelerate content and advertising-product initiatives.

Broadside Enterprises, Inc. (OTC: BRSE) acquired 100% of the membership interests in MonteCristo International Entertainment, LLC effective December 23, 2020. Broadside said the acquisition supports its plan to build a film and television distribution company; Michael Taverna will become CEO, Cindy Nelson-Mullen COO and Christopher Petzel will remain Chairman.

Clearlink, the digital marketing subsidiary of Sykes Enterprises, acquired Taylor Media Corporation, owner of personal finance site The Penny Hoarder, in an all-cash transaction valued at $102.5 million. The acquisition expands Clearlink's digital media portfolio and extends Sykes' reach into the broader financial services advertising market by adding The Penny Hoarder's audience, content expertise and advertiser relationships.

WarnerMedia has acquired You.i TV, an Ottawa-based provider of cross-platform video app development tools, to integrate You.i Engine One into the HBO Max technology stack. The acquisition is intended to accelerate HBO Max app delivery across devices and expand deployment of the streaming service globally.

Digital media company Blexr has acquired HomeGrounds.co, a content site and online community for home baristas. FE International served as sell-side advisor and the site's founder Alex Azoury (Tailend Media) sold the asset; Blexr said the purchase supports its expansion into the coffee vertical and broader content product verticals.

Nexstar Inc., a subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, agreed to acquire BestReviews LLC from Tribune Publishing Company and BR Holding Company, Inc. for $160 million in cash. Tribune owned 60% and the founders (BR Holding) owned 40%; the deal strengthens Nexstar's digital content and commerce capabilities and is expected to close following customary approvals.

Industry Dive has acquired CFO Media Group, bringing the CFO brand, magazine, website, research, events, audience and staff into Industry Dive’s portfolio of industry-focused publications. The deal expands Industry Dive’s reach into the finance/CFO audience and combines CFO’s long-standing finance journalism with Industry Dive’s data-driven B2B publishing and studio capabilities.

Excel Sports Management received a strategic minority growth investment from Shamrock Capital to support the agency’s expansion in sports, media and brand marketing. Terms were not disclosed; Excel’s leadership (Jeff Schwartz, Casey Close and Mark Steinberg) will continue to run the agency and enlisted LionTree Advisors (financial) and Katten Muchin Rosenman (legal) on the transaction.

United Gaming LLC, the largest operator of coin-operated amusement machines (COAMs) in Georgia, acquired the assets and team of Elite Amusement, Inc. The transaction was announced alongside a new $250 million senior secured multi-draw credit facility to support United Gaming's consolidation and expansion plans.

Teall Capital (aka Teall Sports & Entertainment) launched a new platform, REVELXP, and announced the acquisition of Birmingham-based Colonnade Group, integrating Colonnade with its existing portfolio companies including Tailgate Guys, PRE and Complex Sports. The deal folds Colonnade's premium seating, temporary structures and VIP hospitality capabilities into REVELXP as part of a strategy to create a one-stop shop for collegiate and professional sports fan and event experiences.

Artlist has acquired Motion Array, a subscription-based digital asset marketplace for video creators, for $65 million. The acquisition expands Artlist’s catalog and video-focused technology — adding Motion Array’s templates, presets, plugins and collaboration tools and a team of ~50 employees to strengthen Artlist’s position as a one-stop creative stock solution.

Australia-based Ai‑Media announced on December 14, 2020 that it will acquire US captioning and access providers Caption IT (Wisconsin) and CaptionAccess (Illinois) for a combined USD 1.9 million (approx. USD 1.6m cash and USD 0.3m in shares). The purchases (expected to complete January 4, 2021) strengthen Ai‑Media's US presence, add complementary corporate, education and government customer relationships, and are expected to modestly benefit FY21 EBITDA and EPS.

ChannelPro Network, a division of EH Media LLC, acquired the FindBiometrics and Mobile ID World brands and an associated consulting services group from Canadian-based TopickZ Inc. The acquisition expands EH Media’s IT-focused media portfolio and provides exposure to the biometrics and mobile identification markets; FindBiometrics founder Peter O'Neill will remain in a key role to assist integration.

Reddit has acquired short-form video app Dubsmash in an undisclosed cash-and-stock deal to accelerate its video strategy. Dubsmash — a Berlin-based short-video social platform focused on creators and underrepresented communities — will operate as its own brand within Reddit while the founders and team join Reddit to integrate Dubsmash’s video creation tools into Reddit’s product.

TC Studios, LLC has acquired the shadowlight group, ltd., combining the two commercial photography and video studios into a larger creative studio with roughly 65 creative professionals and 135,000 sq. ft. of space (including a 10,000 sq. ft. sound stage). The combined company will operate from Shadowlight's Leola, Pennsylvania studio with Ted Clements as CEO while Shadowlight co-owners Phil and Kristen Hiestand will support the transition as they step toward retirement.

Twitter has acquired Squad, a small consumer social app known for screen-sharing, video chat and co-watching features. The Squad team will join Twitter to bring audio/video and screen-sharing capabilities into Twitter’s product; Squad said it would shut down the standalone app to focus on building inside Twitter.

Media Central Corporation Inc. has entered into a letter of intent to acquire media and marketing services firm Lazarus Bleau Incorporated for total consideration of $2.0 million, paid via the issuance of 200 million Media Central common shares. The acquisition will add two publications (Horizon Travel & Lifestyle Magazine and On The GO), expand Media Central’s monthly audience to more than 7.2 million readers, and names Lazarus Bleau executive Larry Bleau as Media Central’s new CEO.

Canossa Events, an Italian organizer of classic and sports-car events, has acquired US-based Cavallino Inc., the publisher and organizer of the Palm Beach Cavallino Classic. The deal brings Cavallino’s long-running Ferrari-focused magazine and marquee US events into Canossa’s and the Motorsport Network’s ecosystem to support global expansion and new commercial opportunities.

Next Glass, the parent company of Untappd and BeerAdvocate, has acquired Hop Culture, a Pittsburgh-based digital magazine and events company serving craft beer enthusiasts. The acquisition brings Hop Culture's content, festivals, and merchandise into Next Glass's portfolio to enhance its audience engagement and event capabilities within the beverage alcohol sector.

Farms.com Ltd has acquired the assets of Issues Ink, including its seed-focused Seed World Group and niche media titles such as Spud Smart, Germination, Alberta Seed Guide, European Seed and Seed World. Issues Ink will continue to operate as a self-contained group within Farms.com, expanding Farms.com's media, publishing and consulting capabilities for the global seed and agriculture sectors.

Streamland Media, a portfolio platform backed by Trive Capital and Five Crowns Capital, has acquired Seattle-based Clatter & Din, a sound and art post-production studio serving the interactive (gaming) market. The deal expands Streamland's Formosa Interactive unit, adding regional presence, creative talent and end-to-end post-production capabilities in the Pacific Northwest as an add-on to the platform.

Red Ventures has acquired Lonely Planet from NC2 Media for an undisclosed amount. The deal brings the iconic travel guidebook and digital travel media brand into Red Ventures' travel portfolio to accelerate Lonely Planet's digital transformation and create end-to-end consumer travel experiences.

Endeavour Capital has made a growth investment in Visual Data Media Services to support the company's next phase of expansion. Visual Data's founder and current management will remain shareholders and will use the capital to invest in service capabilities, expand its global footprint, and pursue strategic acquisitions.

Five Legged Stool LLC, the owner/operator of Arkansas Business Publishing Group, has acquired the niche magazines and ancillary marketing products of Scott Publishing LLC, publisher of 360 West and several other regional titles. The acquisition brings the Fort Worth-based publications into ABPG's portfolio as the buyer plans to continue the titles and expand products, events and marketing solutions for advertisers and readers in Tarrant County.

Sunwater Capital, a private equity firm based in North Bethesda, Maryland, has acquired the assets of Irving Levin Associates, a long-standing publisher of healthcare and senior housing M&A and finance market intelligence. The acquisition gives Sunwater strategic capabilities in information and healthcare market intelligence and transfers ownership of Irving Levin’s publications and related assets.

BC Partners has signed an agreement to acquire Keesing Media Group, the leading European braintainment and puzzle publisher, from Ergon Capital and Mediahuis. The investment will support Keesing's digital expansion, continued consolidation across Europe and further international growth; terms were not disclosed and the deal is subject to regulatory approvals.

CORSAIR (NASDAQ:CRSR) has acquired Gamer Sensei, the esports coaching platform that connects gamers with professional coaches. Gamer Sensei will operate as a subsidiary brand within CORSAIR, expanding CORSAIR's gaming ecosystem and giving players access to coaching and training alongside CORSAIR's hardware and content-creation products.

Visaic, Inc. has acquired Vancouver-based streaming platform company YARE Media, purchasing all outstanding shares to integrate YARE's OTT streaming, analytics and sports-focused deployments into Visaic's content delivery and fan engagement platform. The deal expands Visaic's product capabilities and customer footprint in sports, esports and entertainment, enabling a combined scalable cloud-based content delivery and monetization solution.

Framestore, with investment backing from private equity firms Crestview Partners and Aleph Capital, has acquired Company 3 / Method (C3M) to create a combined global creative and post-production studio. The transaction brings together Framestore's VFX and production capabilities with C3M's post-production expertise and scale (approximately 3,500 artists), positioning the enlarged business to address growing demand from film, television, streaming and advertising clients.

Foresight Group (via its Foresight Williams Technology EIS and VCT share class) together with Williams Advanced Engineering have invested £1.05m into AudioScenic, a University of Southampton spin-out developing immersive 3D audio technology. The funding is part of a £1.58m round (including existing investor IP Group) to help AudioScenic commercialise its products and expand its team.

Transom Capital Group has acquired BridgeTower Media, a B2B information, research, events and marketing platform formerly a subsidiary of Gannett Co. BridgeTower operates more than 40 print and digital brands across 25+ U.S. markets; Transom said it will invest in technology and resources to grow the business. Cerberus Business Finance provided financing for the transaction and JEGI acted as financial advisor to Gannett.

Curve Digital, part of the Catalis Group, has acquired Vancouver-based independent game developer IronOak Games to strengthen the group's North American presence and expand its For The King IP. The transaction was supported/financed by Catalis Group's backers (NorthEdge and Vespa Capital) and funded via a committed acquisition facility established after Catalis Group's £90m backing in October 2019.

BEN Group (BENlabs), an entertainment AI company, has acquired TubeBuddy, the leading YouTube creator optimization platform. TubeBuddy will operate as a division of BEN Group with Rob Gabel joining as General Manager to integrate and scale the platform and extend BEN’s AI capabilities to creators.

Insider Inc., the parent company of Business Insider, has acquired a controlling stake in digital media startup Morning Brew in a deal reported at up to $75 million. Morning Brew will remain an independent brand within Insider’s portfolio; the acquisition gives Insider a profitable newsletter business with millions of readers and $20+ million in run-rate revenue.

Cattri, a Mexico City-based out-of-home (OOH) technology and media company, acquired a majority stake in Lightbox OOH Video Network (AdSpace Networks), a U.S. digital mall video advertising network. The deal was backed by Mexican private equity firm PC Capital with financing support from Altum Capital and provides Lightbox with growth capital to expand its national DOOH footprint and deploy Cattri's ad-tech in the U.S.

London-based Clarion Events has acquired California-based Quartz Events, a leading producer of invitation-only executive summits in North America. The deal strengthens Clarion's digital and virtual event capabilities and expands its executive-summit offerings as Quartz will continue to operate under its existing leadership with Toby Harris remaining as President & CEO.

Abry Partners has made a significant growth investment in OneCare Media, a Seattle-headquartered digital content and consumer health marketing business that owns brands such as SleepFoundation.org, Tuck.com, Testing.com, Help.org, and OnlineDoctor.com. OneCare will use the proceeds to support ongoing growth and acquisition activities; CG Petsky Prunier served as exclusive financial advisor to OneCare on the transaction.

Rogue Matter, a Los Angeles-based digital-first studio, announced the acquisition of several content and distribution assets — including the Secrets of the Sire podcast/network (renamed Rogue Wav), YouTube channel Epic Level TV, Twitch gaming show BadCoyoteFunky (rebranded Button Smash), and pop-culture platform MovieSpoon. The deals bring podcast, video, social and gaming audiences and creators into Rogue Matter to accelerate its content, distribution and multi-platform capabilities.

VNN, a leading high school sports communications platform, has acquired Wisconsin Sports Network (WSN), the publisher of wissports.net. The deal combines VNN's SportsHub platform with WSN's state-focused coverage to create vertically integrated, high-profile and hyper-local high school sports content across Wisconsin.

iHeartMedia has agreed to acquire Voxnest, a podcast technology company that provides analytics, enterprise publishing tools, programmatic integration and targeted ad-serving. The acquisition adds advanced podcast ad-tech capabilities (dynamic ad insertion, programmatic buying, analytics) to iHeartMedia’s platform to expand monetization across its podcast inventory and the wider podcast marketplace.

Wenneker Group has acquired 100% of Peek Creative Studios, a photography and production studio based in Etten-Leur, the Netherlands. The acquisition adds four photo studios and creative production capability to Wenneker Group’s portfolio, bringing the group to 65 employees and supporting work for international brands and agencies.

Cinedigm has agreed to acquire The Film Detective, a classic film and television content distributor and operator of two FAST channels, adding roughly 3,000 titles and ~10,000 episodes to Cinedigm's streaming portfolio. The Film Detective will continue to operate under founder Philip Hopkins as a standalone brand while Cinedigm plans to expand distribution and launch additional genre channels leveraging its Matchpoint platform.

Velocity, a managed services company based in Holland, Ohio, has acquired Impax Media, Inc., a provider of in-store digital signage advertising that operates a checkout-area network across 49 grocery stores in the New York City area. The acquisition expands Velocity’s media solutions portfolio into the grocery/retail media market and positions it to sell Impax’s ad inventory through a partnership with Screenvision Media.

Rockstar Games has acquired Dundee-based Ruffian Games; the studio will operate under the name Rockstar Dundee with founders Gary Liddon and Billy Thomson remaining as Co-Studio Directors. Terms were not disclosed; Rockstar (part of Take-Two Interactive) said the acquisition expands its global studio footprint and adds development talent and experience to future projects.

Elo Entertainment, an esports data and analytics company based in Austin, Texas, has acquired Speedrun.com, the leading online platform for speedrun leaderboards and community resources. The acquisition will give Elo access to Speedrun.com's large user base and community assets, enabling further product development and feature enhancements for the speedrunning community.

North Equity, a venture equity firm, has acquired a portfolio of legacy media brands from Bonnier Corporation, including Popular Science, Saveur, Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Popular Photography, Better You and Interesting Things. The deal expands North Equity's digital-media platform and creates new category verticals across food, specialty science/photography and outdoor/military audiences.

BNP Media has acquired Food Safety Magazine, integrating the leading food-safety trade publication into its food, beverage and packaging group. The deal keeps key editorial and publishing staff in place and supports a transition for owners Bobby and Don Meeker into retirement while expanding BNP Media's content and event capabilities in the food-safety sector.

Future plc has acquired CinemaBlend, a US-based digital entertainment publisher and division of Gateway Blend. The acquisition expands Future's reach in its TV & Film and Games & Entertainment verticals—particularly in the US—and provides opportunities to accelerate its WhatToWatch.com offering and diversify CinemaBlend's monetization through Future's proprietary technology.

Charles Thayne Capital, a growth-oriented private investment firm, has acquired World Archives, the operator of NewspaperArchive.com. The firm is partnering with former Ancestry.com executives Kendall Hulet (CEO) and Brandon Camp (CMO) to accelerate product and subscriber growth for the historical newspaper and genealogy platform.

The E.W. Scripps Company will acquire ION Media from an entity controlled by Black Diamond Capital Management for $2.65 billion, creating a national television networks business by combining ION with Scripps’ Katz networks and Newsy. Berkshire Hathaway is providing $600 million of preferred equity to finance the transaction; the deal is expected to deliver substantial synergies and requires FCC and HSR approvals.