Private Equity-Backed Media & Entertainment Acquisitions

Hovercraft Ventures, a global experience and innovation venture platform, has acquired Visual Endeavors, a Santa Cruz–based design and creative solutions agency known for immersive live-entertainment and experiential work. Visual Endeavors will join Hovercraft's roster (which includes Raw Cereal, Hovercraft and OMM) and bring proprietary technical capabilities such as the PixelCannon rendering platform and a large BlackTrax tracking rental inventory to the platform.

The Light Park, a Texas-based operator of drive-thru holiday light attractions backed by Guideboat Capital, has acquired Holiday Supply Shop, a walk‑thru holiday light park operator founded by Matt Thompson. The deal adds pedestrian-focused and stadium/venue event capabilities to The Light Park’s platform, expanding its seasonal entertainment offerings beyond drive‑thru experiences.

ZCG-backed VENU+ has acquired Tiburon Lockers, a U.S.-based provider of electronic rental locker systems for high-traffic entertainment and leisure venues. The add-on expands VENU+'s smart locker capabilities and strengthens its North America presence while integrating Tiburon's customized locker solutions into VENU+'s tech-enabled guest mobility and storage platform.

BCKD Capital’s newly launched multinational holding company, SVCV, has acquired Hyped Media, a Hong Kong–based digital media firm that publishes outlets including TheBritExpress, CelebDispatch, TheWorldExpress, The Pose, and Le Protagonist. The deal is SVCV’s first acquisition as it pursues a strategy to build a global media and content platform through an acquisition-driven roadmap and new branded initiatives.

IKON Capital led an investor group including David Blitzer's Bolt Ventures and Main Street Advisors to acquire Red Bull KTM Tech3, a long-tenured MotoGP team based in France. The new ownership has installed Guenther Steiner as CEO and plans to professionalize Tech3's commercial operations, boost sporting performance, and grow franchise value through increased fan engagement and sponsor activation.

Black Knight Football Club (BKFC) acquired the remaining 60% equity interests in FC Lorient, making BKFC the club's sole shareholder. Former majority owner Loïc Féry received part of his consideration in BKFC shares, will remain president of FC Lorient, and the deal furthers BKFC's multi-club integration and strategic collaboration across its platform.

Stationhead and Mellomanic have merged under the Stationhead name to create a unified fan-engagement and "first listen" platform for artists, labels, and fans. The combined company received new investments from Sterling Partners and Universal Music Group (which also signed a commercial agreement), with David Rappaport named CEO and leadership roles for Stationhead co-founder Ryan Star and Sterling's Steven Taslitz.

Chicago private equity firm GTCR has agreed to acquire LiveBarn, a Montreal-based youth and amateur sports streaming service, in a deal valued at roughly $400 million. The acquisition advances GTCR’s strategy to build a platform in the fragmented youth sports ecosystem (Ascent Sports Group); Ares is providing part of the financing and existing investors including Susquehanna Growth Equity and Ares are reported participants in the sale process.

ByteDance has finalized a deal establishing TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, a majority American-owned entity that will secure U.S. user data, apps and the recommendation algorithm to avoid a nationwide ban. The joint venture is led by Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX (each with 15%), with other U.S. and global investors participating while ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake.

Applied Real Intelligence (A.R.I.) has acquired a controlling majority interest in Lights Out Sports and expanded its governance role. Under the transaction, Dr. Zack Ellison has been appointed Chairman, President, and CEO as A.R.I. looks to scale Lights Out's combat-sports promotion, live events, and streaming media business (Lights Out XF and LightsOutSportsTV.com) and leverage a new multi-year media rights deal with ESPN/Disney+.

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, a PE-backed events and exhibitions operator, has acquired SubSummit, the subscription-commerce focused conference founded in 2016. The acquisition will allow Nineteen Group to scale SubSummit's flagship event and expand its U.S. presence while keeping the SubSummit brand and programming intact.

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.

Collectors, the parent company of PSA, has acquired Beckett Collectibles (Beckett Media) from Collēctīvus/Collectivus Holdings. The deal consolidates major grading, authentication and collectibles data assets under Collectors to expand grading, authentication and marketplace capabilities in the collectibles market.

OnDeck Partners, a new sports ownership group within Avenue Sports Fund led by Marc Lasry, has acquired two Minor League Baseball franchises: the Montgomery Biscuits (Double-A) and the Visalia Rawhide (Single-A). The purchases mark OnDeck's market entry with a community-first strategy to enhance fan experiences and invest in local stadiums and programming.

Parella Motorsports Holdings (the owner/operator of SpeedTour) has acquired Racing America, a digital-first motorsports media and streaming platform. The deal, completed under the ownership of Velocity Capital Management (with support from the Texas Permanent School Fund), combines live-event promotion with Racing America's digital production and streaming capabilities to create an integrated grassroots motorsports media and events platform headquartered in North Carolina.

Easyfairs has acquired the Energy Projects Conference & Expo (EPC), marking its first acquisition in North America and supporting its expansion into the US energy events market. EPC, founded by Josh Bull, is a fast-growing energy projects tradeshow focused on LNG export, power generation, petrochemicals & refining, midstream and alternative energies.

CyberRisk Alliance (CRA) has acquired ChannelPro Network, a content and events business serving the SMB Managed Service Provider (MSP) community. The deal expands CRA's cybersecurity and channel-focused business intelligence portfolio by combining ChannelPro's audience, events, and content with CRA's existing brands and resources.

Exceleration Music has acquired the catalog and catalog operations of Los Angeles-based indie label Dangerbird Records, covering roughly 120 albums and more than 30 artists; financial terms were not disclosed. Exceleration will handle promotion and distribution through Redeye Worldwide, and Dangerbird president Jenni Sperandeo will step down after a transition.

Arctos announced the launch of Arctos Capital Markets (ACM) and said ACM successfully facilitated the sale of a controlling interest in the Tampa Bay Lightning to a newly formed investor group including Blue Owl Capital and private investors Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz. Jeff Vinik and Vinik Sports Group sold the stake while Vinik will retain control for a transition period.

NEP Group has acquired Dubai-based Seven Production to expand its live production and broadcasting services across the Middle East. Seven Production will join NEP Middle East and Asia, with Pierre Tabet continuing as managing director; terms were not disclosed.

Civica Media, a new publishing platform backed by private equity firm BlackBern Partners, has acquired Greenleaf Book Group and Amplify Publishing Group to create a leading hybrid and thought-leadership book publisher. Graycliff Partners provided a unitranche debt facility and a minority equity investment to support the transaction; both acquired brands will continue to operate under their existing leadership while sharing Civica’s editorial, production, marketing, distribution, and analytics capabilities.

Dominus Capital has acquired Creative Outdoor Advertising (COA) from Fulcrum Capital Partners, marking Fulcrum’s first exit from Fund VI. COA, headquartered in Gormley, Ontario, is a leading North American provider of street-level furniture out-of-home advertising and will partner with Dominus to pursue continued growth and market expansion.

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.

H.I.G. Capital (through an affiliate) has completed the acquisition of Kantar Media from the Kantar Group. Headquartered in London and operating across more than 60 markets, Kantar Media provides audience measurement and media analytics; H.I.G. says it will support the business as an independent company and accelerate investment in its measurement and analytics capabilities.

Zello, a private investment platform focused on entertainment infrastructure, has acquired Cinelease — a leading lighting, grip and studio management company — from Herc Rentals. The transaction will position Cinelease as a standalone, privately held company under Zello to deepen its market presence and expand production infrastructure and studio services across North America.

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.

GSE Worldwide has acquired InsideOut Sports & Entertainment, a Los Angeles–based event production company that owns and operates marquee sports and entertainment events including The Pickleball Slam, Pro Padel League and Major League Pickleball. The deal marks GSE's first entry into live event production and will create a new GSE Productions division led by Jon Venison, while leveraging recent strategic investment from BC Partners Credit and Gatemore Capital to support continued growth.

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.

Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management completed the acquisition of International Game Technology PLC’s Gaming & Digital business from Brightstar Lottery (formerly IGT). Brightstar received approximately $4.0 billion of net cash proceeds, which it will use to reduce near-term debt, return $1.1 billion to shareholders (a $3.00 per-share special dividend plus a $500 million repurchase authorization), and fund other corporate priorities; Brightstar will continue to trade as Brightstar Lottery (BRSL).

Black Knight Football Club (BKFC), a multi-club ownership vehicle affiliated with Cannae Holdings, has acquired a majority ownership interest in Moreirense Futebol Clube, a Primeira Liga club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Portugal. The investment advances BKFC's multi-club strategy by expanding into Portugal to accelerate player development, create operational synergies across its club network, and strengthen on-field and commercial performance.

Ares Sports, Media and Entertainment funds (Ares Management) has acquired a minority stake in the France SailGP Team, joining the team's investor consortium that includes footballer Kylian Mbappé. The investment gives Ares institutional capital and strategic support to help grow the French team and the commercial potential of the SailGP championship.

MNRK Music Group has acquired independent metal label Prosthetic Records and its catalog, folding the imprint into MNRK Heavy. The deal expands MNRK's hard rock and metal roster and prepares a slate of reissues, remasters and new releases under the MNRK Heavy strategy.

LiveU has completed the acquisition of Actus Digital's business and technology; Actus Digital will operate as "Actus Digital, a LiveU Company" and remain an independent sister brand. The deal adds Actus Digital's intelligent monitoring, compliance logging and AI-enhanced content analytics to LiveU's live IP-video contribution and distribution portfolio, enabling an end-to-end offering across broadcast, sports, government and enterprise markets.

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.

CVC has agreed a strategic investment to become the sole equity partner in Dream Games, providing liquidity to the company's initial venture capital investors who will exit. Debt financing is being provided by funds managed by Blackstone and others; Dream Games will use the partnership to accelerate growth of its Royal games universe and expand globally. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in Q3 2025.

Bowmark-backed DeHavilland has acquired NewsDirect, a specialist provider of devolved nations policy monitoring across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The deal adds localised devolved-nations expertise to DeHavilland’s UK and EU political monitoring capabilities, strengthening the group's political intelligence offering ahead of upcoming Scottish and Welsh elections.

Coral Tree Partners has made a minority growth investment in Innovative Artists Entertainment, the Santa Monica–headquartered talent agency founded in 1982. Monroe Capital acted as sole lead arranger and administrative agent on a senior credit facility to support the transaction; Innovative Artists has rebranded its existing businesses under the unified Innovative Artists Entertainment name and will continue operating from offices in Santa Monica and New York.

Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has acquired Turpentine, the niche podcast network founded by Erik Torenberg, and named Torenberg a partner. The deal is intended to scale a16z's media and network capabilities around vertical expertise podcasts; financial terms were not disclosed.

Events.com has acquired the La Jolla Concours d'Elegance, a long-running automotive showcase held in La Jolla, California. The La Jolla Historical Society and the event's volunteer leadership will continue in guiding roles while Events.com provides enhanced ticketing, sponsorship, marketing, and operational support to scale the event.

Featured.com, a Scottsdale-based expert insights platform, has acquired Help A Reporter Out (HARO) from Cision. The deal—backed by investors including Great North Ventures—will revive HARO's original daily-email format and integrate the service into Featured's offerings to strengthen journalist–expert connections and monetize via newsletter ads.

Los Angeles-based Create Music Group (CMG) has acquired Berlin-based independent label and publisher !K7 Music, the label founded by the late Horst Weidenmüller and known for the DJ-Kicks series. CMG said it will preserve !K7’s independent ethos while leveraging its global infrastructure to expand artist services, distribution and catalog monetization.

Willistown Capital made a private investment to combine U.S. event production companies High Output, L!VE, and Sardis into a single, integrated live and virtual event production platform. The combined business brings expanded capabilities, studios in Chicago and Boston, and a reported collective workforce of ~220 industry experts to serve premium corporate, broadcast and experiential clients.

Shout! Studios has acquired independent distributor Gravitas Ventures, adding more than 3,300 film and television titles to its catalogue while operating both companies as distinct brands. The deal — which involved Shout! Studios’ backer Oaktree Capital Management and the former owner Anthem Sports & Entertainment — was announced with financial terms undisclosed and positions Shout! to expand its multi-platform distribution and FAST/channel offerings.

PlayOn, the fan engagement platform for high school sports, acquired MaxPreps from CBS Sports (a division of Paramount Global) to integrate MaxPreps' scores, stats, and rankings with PlayOn's ticketing, streaming, and digital media products. Financial terms were not disclosed; MaxPreps employees will join PlayOn as the companies combine capabilities to enhance coverage, analytics, and fan engagement for high school athletics.

Simply.TV has acquired Red Bee Media’s Content Discovery Business to accelerate its expansion into the U.S. market. In conjunction with the acquisition, Simply.TV secured a majority growth equity investment from Summit Partners, marking its first institutional funding and supporting further global growth.

Silver Lake, in partnership with the Endeavor management team and several co-investors (including Mubadala, DFO Management, Lexington Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management funds, and CPP Investments), completed a take-private acquisition of Endeavor Group Holdings for $27.50 per share. The transaction consolidates ownership, rebrands the portfolio of representation businesses as WME Group, and positions the company for long-term value creation across talent representation, IP, content and sports assets.

Knighthead Capital Management has acquired a significant minority ownership stake in the Birmingham Panthers, a new professional Netball Super League team representing Birmingham and the West Midlands. The investment supports Knighthead's broader sports strategy in Birmingham and will help the Panthers expand operations, community outreach, and visibility as netball grows in popularity across the UK.