Media & Entertainment Acquisitions in New York

Virgin Music Group (VMG) has completed its acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings, combining two major platforms that serve independent artists, labels and rights holders. The deal brings Downtown's distribution, publishing and artist/label services into VMG's global platform and names Pieter van Rijn as VMG Chief Operating Officer to lead integration and technology initiatives.

HubSpot has acquired Starter Story, the entrepreneur-focused media brand founded by Pat Walls, in a deal that marks a full exit for Walls. Starter Story will join HubSpot Media and continue operating under its own brand while gaining HubSpot's distribution and media infrastructure; financial terms were not disclosed.

Popfly has integrated Mount, a VC-backed travel startup, into its creator platform; Mount founders Madi Rifkin and Casey Evans will join Popfly's team. The acquisition brings Mount's travel creator community and network of hosts, brands, and tour operators into Popfly's creator discovery, collaboration, and campaign management ecosystem to accelerate Popfly's expansion into travel and short‑term rental experiences.

BeatStars has acquired Lemonaide AI, a generative music startup focused on consent-based model training, to integrate ethical AI tooling into its rights-first music platform. Lemonaide's co-founders will join BeatStars to lead technology and innovation as the company embeds transparent attribution and creator compensation into AI-assisted music workflows.

REV Entertainment, the sports and entertainment arm of the Texas Rangers, has purchased the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. Founding owner Frank Boulton will remain in an advisory role; financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition brings the Ducks into REV's growing portfolio of minor-league and partner-league clubs.

Insignia Capital Group has made a strategic growth investment in Trooh Media, a digital-out-of-home (DOOH) media platform that reaches Gen Z on U.S. college campuses. The capital will support Trooh’s expansion of talent, capabilities and platform initiatives while founder Martin Poitras remains CEO and Toby Sturek joins as President.

Nineteen Group has acquired The Lead, a U.S.-based media and events business focused on executive-level retail and brand leadership forums. The acquisition expands Nineteen Group’s presence in the U.S. retail events market and aims to scale The Lead's flagship events, community and editorial offerings while preserving the brand's continuity.

FOX Entertainment has acquired Meet Cute, a New York–based audio drama platform founded in 2019 by Naomi Shah, to expand its creator-driven content pipeline and incubator ecosystem. Meet Cute will operate as a rapid-development content incubator within FOX, with Shah joining FOX Entertainment as Senior Vice President, Operations and Strategy to focus on AI innovation, entertainment technology, and IP scalability.

Questex has acquired life-sciences-focused event companies The Conference Forum and Versalinx Global Events to expand its healthcare and life sciences events and media portfolio. The acquisitions add specialty conferences, market-research and competitive-intelligence events, and complementary databases and teams to Questex's Fierce Healthcare & Life Sciences platform.

Givebutter, the all-in-one nonprofit fundraising and CRM platform, has acquired We Are For Good, a media, education, and community ecosystem for nonprofit leaders. The acquisition combines Givebutter's fundraising technology with We Are For Good's podcast, newsletter, and global meetups to deliver integrated education, community, and fundraising tools for nonprofit professionals.

Ari Emanuel’s holding company MARI has acquired TodayTix Group from Great Hill Partners. The deal brings TodayTix's digital ticketing and e-commerce capabilities into MARI’s global events and experiences portfolio to expand its consumer distribution and live-event technology capabilities.

Veylan, an AI-native operating system for advertising, has acquired Advisr, a sales operating platform used by local media organizations. The acquisition brings Advisr's media sales expertise and customer footprint into Veylan, with Advisr CEO Quique Nagle appointed Chief Operating Officer of the combined company to lead operations and integration.

GameSquare Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: GAME) agreed to acquire Click Management, a talent and creator management agency, for $8.5 million plus contingent earnouts. The deal is intended to expand GameSquare’s talent management and creator-led offerings, and is expected to be accretive to profitability beginning in 2025.

Funds advised by Searchlight Capital Partners have made a strategic growth investment in Chord Music Partners to support expansion of its recorded music and publishing catalogs and to accelerate acquisition activity. The investment will strengthen Chord's ability to identify and execute new music-IP acquisitions and support continued growth of its platform backed by strategic relationships including Universal Music Group.

Skydance Media, supported by investor RedBird Capital Partners and an investor group, completed a merger with Paramount Global to form a standalone public company, Paramount, a Skydance Corporation (Nasdaq: PSKY). The transaction combines Paramount's content library and distribution network with Skydance's production and technology capabilities, with a focus on capturing synergies across studios, direct-to-consumer streaming and TV media.

The Seneca Nation, through its business arm Seneca Holdings, LLC, has purchased the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League; terms were not disclosed. The acquisition preserves the franchise in Rochester after the Pegula family chose to sell and aligns the team with the Seneca Nation’s cultural and community-focused objectives.

Turnmill Limited, a London-based operator of large-scale financial-services events backed by Horizon Capital, has acquired iGlobal Forum Inc., a New York-based organizer of high-level events focused on private capital markets and real estate private equity. The add-on expands Turnmill's portfolio (which includes GBM, GRO Events and Dealmakers Forums) and deepens its presence in the independent sponsors and real estate private equity markets.

Touchpoint Markets has been acquired by Arc, a B2B events, data and media platform backed by EagleTree Capital. The acquisition brings Touchpoint’s portfolio of industry brands (including ThinkAdvisor, BenefitsPRO, PropertyCasualty360, GlobeSt, and Credit Union Times) into the Arc network to accelerate growth across events, data/subscription products and lead-generation services.

Funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. acquired FilmRise and merged it with existing portfolio company Shout! Studios to create Radial Entertainment, a combined film and TV distribution, production, and streaming platform. The new company unites complementary content libraries (roughly 70,000 titles) and leadership from both businesses to scale distribution, streaming (FAST/AVOD), and monetization capabilities across paid, hybrid and ad-supported tiers.

The San Francisco Standard has acquired Charter, the workplace-focused newsletter and events publisher founded in 2021. The acquisition will keep the Charter team intact while integrating its reporting, research, and events into The Standard’s broader audience to accelerate AI-focused coverage and expand reach.

3 Arts Entertainment has acquired Olivia Metzger's news and personality talent management firm OManagement, bringing OManagement's roster — including Craig Melvin, Kristen Welker, Harris Faulkner and Steve Kornacki — into the 3 Arts platform. Metzger will join 3 Arts as a partner and co-head of its New York office as the company expands its presence in New York City and combines 3 Arts' production resources and media strategy with OManagement's talent representation.

Concord has acquired Broadway Licensing Global (BLG) and its family of imprints — Broadway Licensing, Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, and Stage Rights — adding roughly 150 titles and hundreds of authors to Concord Theatricals' catalogue. The deal (which excludes BLG's Stageworks development division and the Broadway On Demand streaming service) consolidates theatrical-licensing catalogs under Concord to expand its publishing and licensing capabilities.

Hyve Group has acquired Manifest, the global supply chain and logistics event founded by Jay Weintraub and held annually in Las Vegas. The purchase expands Hyve’s portfolio into the supply chain and logistics sector and aims to scale the Manifest brand using Hyve’s event operations, sales, marketing and digitisation capabilities, with potential geographic expansion into Europe.

MJH Life Sciences has acquired NewBeauty, the beauty-focused media brand, from SANDOW Media. The acquisition expands MJH's footprint in beauty and aesthetics by combining NewBeauty's consumer and professional editorial platforms with MJH's clinical and specialty-media capabilities.

Gallery Media Group (GMG), the publisher behind PureWow, has acquired fashion and beauty outlet Coveteur. The deal — GMG's first acquisition — will relaunch Coveteur under GMG's portfolio (terms undisclosed) with an emphasis on video, shopping, and social storytelling and sponsorships from Rabanne, Don Julio and Amazon.

Redbrick, a Victoria, British Columbia-based company that builds and operates tech and media businesses, has acquired digital publisher Quartz and consumer product site The Inventory from G/O Media for an undisclosed amount. Redbrick says it will integrate Quartz with other portfolio properties (including newsletter-ad marketplace Paved) to accelerate product innovation, audience relationships, and monetization.

Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZD) announced two Q1 2025 acquisitions: an equity investment in digital media company theSkimm (United States) and an asset acquisition of gaming media site Maxroll (Netherlands). Terms were not disclosed and the company said the deals are not expected to be material to Ziff Davis' financials; the transactions expand Ziff Davis’ global customer base and product lineup while providing access to new markets.

CloserStill Media has acquired Ai4, North America’s largest AI industry conference, in a deal advised by JEGI CLARITY. The acquisition will integrate Ai4 into CloserStill’s business technology portfolio to accelerate growth and expand CloserStill’s presence in the U.S.

Everyday Health Group, a division of Ziff Davis, Inc., has acquired digital media brand theSkimm. The deal brings theSkimm's newsletters, podcasts and audience into Everyday Health's portfolio to deepen its reach into women's health and wellness and engage millennial and Gen Z female readers.

Singapore-based Brown Brothers Media Pte. Ltd. has acquired DMNews (dmnews.com), a digital publisher focused on self-improvement and lifestyle content, effective February 15, 2025. The acquisition expands Brown Brothers Media's content portfolio and audience reach; DMNews co-founder Justin Brown has been named editor-in-chief.

Fox Corporation has acquired Red Seat Ventures, a creator-economy digital media company that produces podcasts, subscription products and live events. Red Seat will operate independently within Fox's Tubi Media Group; financial terms were not disclosed.

Warner Music Group (WMG) has acquired a controlling stake in Tempo Music Investments, an investment platform for premium music rights, from Providence Equity Partners. Providence will remain a minority investor and continue in an advisory role; the deal expands WMG/Warner Chappell's catalog administration and distribution capabilities.

Moving Traditions announced on February 3, 2025 that it has acquired jGirls+ Magazine, an online magazine and community for self-identifying Jewish girls and nonbinary teens; the acquisition was effective January 23, 2025. The integration will expand Moving Traditions' youth engagement offerings by adding a digital publishing platform focused on feminism, activism, and teen self-expression, aiming to reach more Jewish teens outside traditional institutional settings.

Turnmill Limited, backed by private equity investor Horizon Capital, has acquired a majority stake in Dealmakers Forums LLC, a Brooklyn-based organiser of high-level events focused on litigation finance and intellectual property. The move is an add-on to Turnmill's events portfolio intended to broaden its reach into the legal and technology sub-sectors and accelerate global growth across its financial-services-focused events business.

M80, an international esports and gaming organization, has acquired esports organization Beastcoast, integrating Beastcoast’s teams, creators, and media business into M80’s platform. The deal brings Beastcoast’s Dota 2 team, a large Pokemon media business, key staff (including CEO Grant Zinn) and audience reach to accelerate M80’s expansion into new esports titles and global fan markets.

Hachette Book Group (HBG) has acquired Union Square & Co. (formerly Sterling Publishing) from Barnes & Noble. The deal transfers Union Square's staff, publishing assets, trademarks, and distribution responsibilities to HBG; no purchase price was disclosed.

Beringer Capital portfolio company Inman has acquired Blueprint from Connectiv Holdings LLC, adding the Blueprint conference and community to Inman’s events and media portfolio. The deal expands Inman’s coverage across the built-world / real estate ecosystem and strengthens its events offering, with Inman committing to further investment in the Blueprint brand.

RedBird IMI, a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and International Media Investments, has taken a majority stake in Front Office Sports, buying out early investor SC Holdings. The investment expands RedBird IMI's partnership with FOS after an initial minority investment in November 2023 and is intended to accelerate the company's growth across content, events and distribution.

JW Player and Connatix have merged to form JWP Connatix, a combined video technology and monetization platform headquartered in New York City. The transaction unifies JW Player's streaming, data, and workflow capabilities with Connatix's full-stack advertising and content technology to create a scaled end-to-end solution for broadcasters, publishers, and advertisers.

Rightsline, a global provider of rights and royalties management software, has acquired RSG Media from parent Naviga (Naviga Global). The acquisition brings RSG Media’s rights-management feature set, audience analytics, and global engineering talent into Rightsline to accelerate product roadmap, analytics and AI initiatives and expand Rightsline’s IP commerce capabilities.

Smooth Media, a niche business media company, has acquired Energy Central, a community platform and media publisher serving the electric power industry. Energy Central — founded in 1995 and with more than 200,000 community members — was represented by Grimes, McGovern & Associates in the transaction as Smooth Media expands its portfolio into the energy vertical.

Liberty Media completed the split-off of Liberty Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (New Sirius) and effected a merger in which a wholly owned subsidiary of New Sirius merged with and into Sirius XM Inc., leaving Old Sirius as a wholly owned subsidiary of New Sirius. The reorganization results in New Sirius (renamed Sirius XM Holdings Inc.) becoming an independent, publicly traded company listed on Nasdaq under the symbol SIRI.

Brighton Park Capital has made a $250 million growth investment in TickPick to accelerate the ticket marketplace's product innovation, scale operations, and expand its audience. Rory McIlroy’s Symphony Ventures joined as a strategic investor; GreyLion will exit its position as part of the transaction.

Global investment firm Sixth Street agreed to a majority investment in Legends, the premium sports and live-events hospitality and services company, in a transaction expected to close in the first quarter. Sixth Street will lead a partnership group alongside co-founders YGE Holdings (an affiliate of the New York Yankees) and Jones Concessions (an affiliate of the Dallas Cowboys); the deal is intended to accelerate Legends' global growth and expand its technology-enabled, 360-degree platform of premium experience offerings.

Hyve Group has acquired POSSIBLE, the marketing tentpole event owned by Beyond Ordinary Events, Inc. The deal brings POSSIBLE into Hyve’s global events portfolio to scale the platform, expand offerings for marketing professionals and accelerate international growth of the conference.

Tunespotter has acquired What-song.com, a leading search engine for music used in movies, TV shows and other visual media, combining the two platforms' data and search capabilities. The deal creates an expanded audio-visual database and an immediate funnel for licensed content, enhancing music discovery for millions of users.

K1 Speed has acquired Grand Prix New York and its Mount Kisco karting center as part of the operator's ongoing Northeast expansion. The 100,000 sq. ft. facility — now rebranded K1 Speed Mount Kisco — includes multi-level indoor karting, arcade, bowling lanes and a restaurant, and is the first of four new centers K1 Speed plans to add in the region this year.

Euldora Financial has acquired Wallner Media Group and appointed founder Jeff Wallner as President of Production and a member of Euldora's board. The deal brings Wallner's film-production capabilities and relationships to Euldora, enabling a landmark $450 million, 30-picture deal with For Us By Us Studios and a separate $35 million four-picture arrangement.

Grist has acquired nonprofit news site The Counter and will maintain its archives and brand assets while launching a new food and agriculture vertical. Grist also announced two new hires to lead the expanded coverage as it integrates The Counter’s mission into its climate and environment reporting.

Infinite Reality (iR) signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Drone Racing League (DRL) for $250 million, boosting iR's valuation to $3.5 billion. The acquisition brings DRL's technology, media assets and sports IP into iR's immersive, AI-powered entertainment platform and is expected to close in Q2 2024 subject to customary approvals.