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C3 Presents investor closes new $760m fund

The Raine Group, a global strategic advisory and investment firm that invests in C3 Presents, has closed a new $760 million fund.

The Raine Partners IV fund brings The Raine Group’s total Assets Under Management to nearly $4 billion.

The firm is an existing investor in other music companies such as streaming platform SoundCloud and digital music distribution service Amuse. It is also the primary backer behind Firebird Music Holdings.

As an advisor, Raine Group has been involved in recent major transactions in the music industry such as HYBE’s $300 million acquisition of Quality Control.

Similar to its predecessor funds, New York and London-based Raine Group says that its new Raine Partners IV fund will invest in growth-stage TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecommunications) companies, with a particular focus on sports, media, entertainment and gaming.

Raine Partners IV has already made its initial investment in Tripledot Studios, a leading mobile games developer with a portfolio of casual games.

Raine Group has been involved in recent transactions in the industry such as HYBE’s $300m acquisition of Quality Control

Founded in 2009, outside of music, Raine has made notable investments in the likes of DraftKings, Moonbug, Imagine Entertainment, TelevisaUnivision and VideoAmp.

According to The Raine Group, the new fund was supported by its “strong base of limited partners”, which includes public pension plans, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors as well as select strategic corporates and family offices.

“We appreciate this vote of confidence from our limited partners and we look forward to building on our firm’s strong track record of investing in transformative growth companies within our core sectors of focus,” says Sherri Williams, partner and head of investor relations and fundraising.

“We look forward to working with our investors and portfolio companies to achieve their full potential.”

John Salter, Co-Founder and Partner of Raine, added: “We are excited to have made our first investment from Raine Partners IV in Tripledot.

“We have known the management team since inception and believe the company is one of the strongest in casual gaming, recently topping the FT/Statista ranking as Europe’s fastest-growing company.

“As a highly profitable business with more than 400 staff and about 50 million monthly active users, we look forward to actively working with their team to drive continued growth in the casual gaming market.”

 


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Thrill One: ‘world’s largest indie action sports’ brand launches

Nitro Circus, Street League Skateboarding (SLS) and Superjacket Productions, three of the biggest names in extreme sports, have partnered to create Thrill One Sports and Entertainment, a ‘next-generation content company’ focused on producing live action-sports events.

According to Thrill One CEO Joe Carr, formerly of UFC and the World Surf League, the company “immediately becomes the world’s largest independent action sports operator and media company”, transforming “what has historically been a fragmented landscape into the biggest platform in action sports”.

Investment firms the Raine Group and Causeway Media Partners, along with commercial finance company MidCap Financial, are backing Thrill One, which will produce 30 events globally in 2020 across the three brands.

“Action sports are enjoying a renaissance right now with Olympic inclusion in 2020, the democratisation of media and the worldwide fanbase at an all-time high,” says Carr.

“Action sports are enjoying a renaissance right now”

“I look forward to working with our athletes and talented management team to drive organic growth in our existing businesses while also identifying potential M&A opportunities and complimentary IP.”

Nitro Circus, led by CEO Andy Edwards, creates live events and sports competitions across a portfolio that includes Nitro World Games, Nitro Rallycross and Nitro Circus Live. SLS, meanwhile, is the world’s leading street skateboarding competition series, and Superjacket is the film production company behind TV programmes such as RidiculousnessThe Dude Perfect Show and Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory.”

“At Nitro Circus, we have the amazing opportunity to work with the best athletes, content creators and technical geniuses in the business, reaching fans worldwide,” comments Travis Pastrana, co-founder of Nitro Circus.

“Now, by teaming up with SLS and Superjacket to create this game-changing team, we can pull our resources together with the unified goal of growing the fun and progression of action sports on a global level.”

 


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