Media & Entertainment Acquisitions in Illinois

The Toy Association announced it is merging People of Play (POP) and its event and media assets into the Association, with POP founder Mary Couzin joining the Association's senior leadership. The deal brings assets including the Chicago Toy & Game Fair, the TAGIEs, Young Inventor Challenge and other POP programs into The Toy Association's portfolio to deepen consumer engagement and strengthen innovation and inventor-facing capabilities.

EverPass Media has acquired UPshow, an on‑premise entertainment and performance marketing platform, adding streaming, consumer engagement and performance‑marketing capabilities to EverPass’s commercial media offering. The deal — financial terms undisclosed — coincides with a strategic investment in EverPass by TKO Group Holdings and will enable commercial venues to stream NFL Sunday Ticket beginning with the 2024 season.

WTWH Media has acquired CFE Media, a B2B media company serving engineers in manufacturing, operational technology, and industrial automation, expanding WTWH's engineering-focused editorial portfolio. The deal, completed after WTWH's partnership with growth investor Mountaingate Capital, adds marquee brands such as Control Engineering and Plant Engineering and strengthens WTWH's audience reach and demand-generation offerings.

Paste Media (Paste Magazine) has acquired The A.V. Club from G/O Media, adding the long-running entertainment and culture publication to its portfolio. The deal brings A.V. Club’s editorial resources under Paste’s umbrella to strengthen its position in entertainment, pop culture and media coverage.

Integrum Holdings LP has made a significant investment in Program Productions, a Lombard, Illinois-based provider of live sports production crewing, payroll and workforce management backed by its ProCrewz platform. Management, including Executive Chairman Bob Carzoli, will remain in place and remain meaningful investors as Integrum partners with the company to deepen customer relationships and expand into adjacent live event markets.

Gaming talent management firm Loaded has acquired GG Talent Group, a Naperville-based agency that represents more than 90 gaming creators. The deal expands Loaded’s creator roster and influencer-marketing capabilities while the GG founders, Eric and Angela Harper, join Loaded to oversee GG’s portfolio and drive commercialization opportunities.

TouchTunes has acquired the business of Arachnid 360, the maker/operator of BullShooter soft‑tip electronic dartboards. The deal expands TouchTunes' in‑venue entertainment footprint — combining Arachnid's ~30,000 connected dartboards with TouchTunes' jukebox network to create a nearly 100,000‑device ecosystem for bars and restaurants across North America and Europe.

Affiliates of private equity firm ZMC have acquired InProduction, a U.S. provider of temporary seating, staging, structures, and scenic production, from Dubin Clark. The acquisition positions ZMC to accelerate InProduction’s growth organically and via add-on acquisitions, leveraging the company’s event-production capabilities and national footprint.

WTWH Media, a Mountaingate Capital portfolio company, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Aging Media Network, a Chicago-based digital media platform focused on senior care and behavioral health. The acquisition expands WTWH Media's healthcare vertical by adding editorial brands, events, and marketing solutions serving senior housing, home health, skilled nursing, hospice and behavioral health audiences.

Informa has agreed to acquire Winsight, a specialist B2B events, data and media group serving the foodservice industry, for an initial enterprise value of $380 million payable in cash. The deal expands Informa’s B2B Foodservice portfolio by adding events (including the National Restaurant Association Show), specialist data (Technomic) and trade media brands, and is expected to be earnings-accretive with operating synergies and revenue growth opportunities.

J&J Ventures Gaming, LLC has acquired substantially all assets of Illinois Gold Rush Inc., a terminal operator with offices in Alton, Illinois and Florissant, Missouri that served about 50 licensed gaming locations. The deal brings Illinois Gold Rush's customers and employees (including president Tom Parsons) into J&J's operations, increasing J&J's serviced locations in Illinois and expanding its broader North American route footprint.

Stack Sports has acquired Meridix (now operating as Stack Streaming), a live video streaming and broadcast platform for sports organizations. The acquisition adds live-streaming, pay-per-view and monetization capabilities to Stack Sports' registration and sports-management SaaS ecosystem to deliver an end-to-end video solution for clubs, leagues, tournaments and families.

The Betsperts Group has acquired Bleacher Nation in a cash-plus-equity transaction, adding the Chicago-centric sports blog to its portfolio of sports betting and fantasy media properties. The deal expands Betsperts' audience reach and content capabilities—boosting the combined group’s traffic and resources—while financial terms were not disclosed.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE) has completed its acquisition of Redbox Entertainment Inc., combining CSSE’s Crackle Plus and content studios with Redbox’s streaming services, FAST/AVOD/TVOD distribution and 36,000 kiosks. The deal expands the combined company’s content library to over 51,000 titles, is expected to drive revenue to roughly $500 million and deliver more than $40 million in run-rate synergies.

Endeavor Business Media has acquired a portfolio of Scranton Gillette Communications brands — including Construction Equipment, Roads & Bridges, Storm Water Solutions, Water Quality Products, and Water and Wastes Digest — strengthening Endeavor's position in transportation, water and wastewater markets. The deal expands Endeavor's B2B media audience and advertiser offerings; Scranton Gillette Communications acted as the seller and was advised by Nick Curci of Corporate Solutions.

CTM Group, a Z Capital Partners-backed provider of managed entertainment and souvenir solutions, acquired a portfolio of 39 directly operated entertainment locations and nearly 2,000 pieces of equipment from NAMCO USA Inc. The asset purchase expands CTM’s footprint in high-traffic tourist and retail venues and deepens its managed-service platform.

TIFIN, via its fintech subsidiary FinancialAnswers.io (Financial Answers), has acquired Stock News Network, the operator of StockNews.com. The deal expands FinancialAnswers.io's financial media portfolio and capabilities — adding audience, content, and fintech/AI-driven tools to its centralized data and widget strategy.

ZMC, a New York-based private equity firm, has acquired The Second City, the iconic Chicago-based improvisational comedy company and training organization. Terms were not disclosed; ZMC said it will partner with management to grow the brand, invest in talent and expand The Second City's entertainment and education offerings.

Australia-based captioning and translation provider Ai-Media acquired US-based ASL interpreting and captioning company Alternative Communications Services (ACS) on May 11, 2020. Ai-Media used proceeds from a recent AUD 10.3m funding round (which included investors such as CVC Emerging Companies Fund and Anzu Partners) to fund the purchase; the parties did not disclose the transaction price. The deal is intended to accelerate Ai-Media's expansion in North America and broaden its live captioning and interpretation capabilities.

Cherry Hill Programs, a portfolio company of Keystone Capital, has acquired Photogenic, a Chicago-based provider of souvenir photography services to major tourist attractions across the United States. The deal combines Cherry Hill's mall-based holiday photography platform with Photogenic's attraction-focused business to expand venue footprint and capabilities; Photogenic CEO Steve Craig will remain leading the souvenir photography division.