The investment from Liberty Global, Wildcat Capital Management and Playground Productions further accelerates Range's exponential trajectory
SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Range Media Partners, the disruptive global talent representation & production powerhouse that has quickly established a dominant foothold in entertainment & media, announced today that is has secured a minority investment in the company from a strategic investment group including Liberty Global, New York-based family office Wildcat Capital Management and family entertainment company Playground Productions to spur growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions. As the first-of-its-kind diversified management firm operating in entertainment, sports, music, digital, and more, the growth capital will enable Range to fortify its marketplace position in the U.S. while scaling in existing and new international territories, bolster its unique value proposition with additive capabilities across representation & production, supercharge organic growth along with new ventures & acquisitions, and fuel more ways to expand its business in lucrative, highly innovative sectors through key investments.
Since its launch in late summer of 2020, Range has dramatically expanded to have one of the most robust and diversified talent rosters in the industry, spanning TV & Film, digital, music, sports, and brands. With a belief that talent is the atomic unit of the future, Range has built a dynamic ecosystem around its clients, providing a full stack of shared services spanning all facets of content production and commerce-based initiatives. Over the past year, Range solidified its premium film production capabilities through its merger with prolific production company Automatik, implemented a growth strategy for Range Sports including acquiring growth-stage companies within the media rights, athlete marketing, and golf verticals, and continued to expand the unique value proposition of Range Music through the launch of a Music Publishing division and opening a Nashville office.
"We founded Range with the intention to build a multi-vertical, full-service offering, one that extends beyond the traditional business of film & TV representation in order to catapult client careers and ambitions through the broader entertainment & media landscape as well as through technology and diversified ventures," stated Peter Micelli, CEO of Range Media Partners. He further explained, "We saw the dynamic changes happening, our clients were feeling them through the ripple effect, and we wanted to be more aggressive in how we could advantageously leverage those changes."
As the media and entertainment industry continue to experience seismic shifts, Range was built to take advantage of disruption through its cutting-edge data to help predict trends, emerging opportunities, and new markets ripe for monetization and its innovative audience measurement analytics enabling more sophisticated servicing of its clients. Liberty Global, the world leader in converged broadband, video and mobile communications and an active investor in cutting-edge infrastructure, content and technology ventures, brings best-in-class expertise and groundbreaking experience at the forefront of content, sports and technology. Through this new strategic partnership and growth capital investment, Range will be able to further unearth new transformational opportunities for its clients and create new assets across the entire entertainment landscape.
Jack Whigham, Managing Partner of Range Media Partners, said, "Liberty Global, one of the most widely respected industry leaders worldwide, along with Wildcat Capital Management and Playground Productions are ideal strategic partners for Range's next stage of growth. We have been very deliberate during this process, wanting to find top-tier, blue-chip partners who have a unique perspective on our industry and are as committed as we are to an innovative long-term strategy to unlock global value for our clients. We are honored to move into this transformative phase with Liberty Global, along with the other first-rate financial sponsors, at our side to continue to meaningfully diversify our business through investment & acquisition."
The investor group comprised of affiliates of Liberty Global and an investment fund advised by Wildcat Capital Management, as well as Rick Hess, was led by Forest Road Asset Management LLC and accompanied by an investment from Playground Productions. This group joins Range's existing strategic investors Point72 Ventures and A+E Networks. In connection with the growth capital investment, Rick Hess was appointed to serve on Range's governing body as Liberty Global & Wildcat Capital Management's representative. ACF Investment Bank advised the investor group and Greenberg Traurig served as its legal counsel. Cooley served as legal counsel to Liberty, Range was represented by Jones Day.
About Range Media Partners
Range Media Partners guides the most creatively ambitious minds in building cultural capital, amplifying their truly remarkable & diverse voices and unlocking full global value in all businesses. Through talent representation, production, storytelling, live experiences, data, Web3/AI strategies, and venture incubation, we drive strategic growth and innovation for our clients spanning film, television, music, sports, literary, digital, gaming, activism, business, and brands. Our mission is to maximize value, diversify & scale opportunities, and build the future of entertainment and culture.
Media Contact: teamrange@narrative-pr.com
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