Media & Entertainment Acquisitions in Pennsylvania

Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation completed the acquisition of Palace Entertainment’s 24 U.S. attractions from Parques Reunidos, adding the parks and water‑park properties to its portfolio. The deal expands Herschend’s footprint to 49 properties and increases its workforce of hosts, while Palace Entertainment’s U.S. operations move from Parques Reunidos ownership to Herschend.

RWS Global has acquired Harmony Helper, a virtual rehearsal app for singers that provides interactive part-mapping and real-time audio-visual feedback. The acquisition expands RWS Global's capability set for performer-focused digital tools and complements its live entertainment and experiential services.

Latticework Capital Management and Edgehill Management announced a strategic growth investment in Life Science Connect (LSC), a Pittsburgh-area life sciences digital media and events platform. Principal Asset Management’s Principal Alternative Credit provided debt financing to support the transaction, which will fund LSC’s content, product innovation, and audience growth initiatives.

Apex CoVantage, an AI-assisted content and data transformation company, has acquired Progressive Publishing Services, a Pennsylvania-based medical and healthcare publishing services firm. The acquisition expands Apex's capabilities and presence in nursing and healthcare publishing, enabling Progressive's customers to leverage Apex's technology platforms and accessibility services.

The Private Equity business at Goldman Sachs Alternatives will acquire a majority stake in TAIT from affiliates of Providence Equity Partners and other existing investors. TAIT's management will remain significant shareholders as Goldman Sachs looks to broaden the company's technology offerings and expand its global footprint in live and location-based experiences.

Milk & Honey Music + Sports + Ventures has acquired VMG Sports in a multi-seven-figure deal that adds 15 NFL players — including Travis Kelce — to Milk & Honey's roster. The VMG founders will join Milk & Honey's executive staff, expanding the firm's sports capabilities, NIL business and geographic recruiting reach across the East Coast and Midwest.

L2 Capital's portfolio company Family Quest (the operator of Jurassic Quest) acquired Open World, Inc., the touring operator behind Brick Fest Live, to expand its family-entertainment touring platform. Farragut Capital Partners provided subordinated debt and equity to Family Quest to support the acquisition and refinance the company's existing debt, with Oxer Capital and Salem Investment Partners co-investing.

Los Angeles-based experiential media company Cosm has acquired Pittsburgh-based immersive video firm C360 to integrate C360’s cloud-based immersive video and camera/computer-vision technology into Cosm’s venues and broadcast offerings. Cosm was the lead investor in C360’s 2022 financing and says the acquisition will expand its linear production and distribution capabilities across sports, entertainment, education and attractions.

Valnet Inc. has acquired Busy Pixel Media (BPM), gaining ownership of BPM's flagship site XDA along with Pocketnow, AppAdvice, BackyardBoss and Hook&Bullet. The deal expands Valnet’s digital publishing portfolio and strengthens its presence in the technology and lifestyle content verticals.

Serata Capital Partners completed an investment partnership with Page Publishing Consortium in late December 2021 to support accelerated organic growth and an acquisition-driven strategy. The transaction was supported by senior financing from Wintrust Bank and mezzanine/minority equity from Ironwood Capital, positioning Page — a multi-brand self-publishing services group serving over 10,000 authors annually — for expanded scale and add-on activity.

Gaia, Inc. acquired Yoga International from the Himalayan Institute, adding roughly 4,000 hours of yoga content to Gaia's streaming library. The acquisition brings Yoga International's global paid subscriber base and deep yoga education content into Gaia's conscious-media platform to support subscriber growth and content expansion.

J&J Ventures Gaming of Pennsylvania, LLC has acquired substantially all of the assets of Second State Gaming, LLC, a Harrisburg-based video gaming terminal operator majority-owned by Gary Brewer. The acquisition expands J&J's terminal operator footprint into Pennsylvania, combining J&J's reporting and marketing capabilities with Second State's truck-stop customization and route management.

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has entered into an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Pittsburgh Penguins, subject to approval by the NHL Board of Governors, with the deal expected to close before year-end. Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle will remain part of the ownership group and Mario Lemieux will continue to guide hockey operations; senior management at the club will remain in place.

Oak View Group (OVG) completed its acquisition of Spectra, the venue management, food & beverage and hospitality business formerly part of Comcast Spectacor, after receiving DOJ approval. The combined company will operate as a full-service live events and entertainment platform, integrating Spectra's venue management and hospitality capabilities with OVG's venue development, sponsorship and facilities services.

Mequoda Systems acquired GreenPrints magazine in an asset-purchase agreement with founder Pat Stone, effective November 1, 2021. The deal included the GreenPrints magazine (12,000 premium subscribers), a product line of books and notecards, and the online store; Mequoda plans to convert the brand into a multi-platform digital publishing operation using its Haven WordPress system and Mequoda methodology.

Linktree has acquired Songlink/Odesli, an automated music link aggregation platform, and will integrate its technology into Linktree's new Music Link feature to help artists share and monetize streaming links across platforms. The deal strengthens Linktree's creator product suite by expanding its streaming-discovery and monetization capabilities for artists and their fans.

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.

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.

Adweek has acquired the trade brands Target Marketing and Publishing Executive (including the FUSE Media summit) from NAPCO Media. The deal expands Adweek's publishing and performance marketing capabilities and adds roughly 200,000 first-party audience insights to its database; terms were not disclosed.

John Rhoades, through his investment vehicle Benbow Ventures, acquired local media site NEXTpittsburgh from founder and former publisher Tracy Certo effective January 1. Rhoades said he plans to work with the existing team to continue the publication's mission of covering Pittsburgh and expand its offerings.

Providence Equity Partners completed a growth equity investment in TAIT, the Lititz, Pennsylvania–based leader in designing and manufacturing live event solutions. TAIT's management (including CEO James "Winky" Fairorth and CCO Adam Davis) remain significant shareholders; the investment will be used to accelerate growth and further develop TAIT's IP and technology platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.