The Raine Group

To all of our clients, connections and friends, here’s to YOU in 2024 and to a healthy start of the new year.   Happy Holidays!

We are pleased to announce that Rainbow S.p.A. has entered into a definitive agreement with The Equity Club. Based in Italy, Rainbow Group is a European leader in kid's content, live action production, and third-party animation services. Raine served as Exclusive Financial Advisor to affiliates of Rainbow S.p.A. This transaction further solidifies Raine’s credentials as a trusted advisor in European content and entertainment, executing on complex transactions in challenging market conditions. Read the press release here: https://lnkd.in/e5-4Qhec

In October, Colin Neville sat down for a discussion at Leaders in Sport's Conference in London with Joseph Leccese, Chairman and Co-Chair of the Sports Practice at Proskauer Rose LLP Private equity and venture capital are increasingly key parts of a thriving ecosystem for sport, with outside investment helping to transform and enhance sports of all levels. “Our thesis at Raine is that Sports is the most powerful content in the world as it is the only thing you really need to watch live when technology has created so much disintermediation in our culture and society” Click here to watch the full interview. https://lnkd.in/e_SFYAXN

Applications to our 2025 Growing Diverse Leaders Program are now open! Aimed to introduce highly motivated undergraduate students to our trailblazing merchant bank focused on TMT Investment Banking and Growth Private Equity Investing, this program is open to current sophomores of all majors and educational backgrounds who identify as female, Black, African American, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American/Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, First Generation, and/or US veteran with 3+ years of active or reserve service. Applications close on December 1 at 11:59PM ET. Learn more about our one-day educational program and apply here: https://lnkd.in/eSs37RpF

Thank you to AFROTECH and Morgan DeBaun for hosting Raine’s Joe Tillman at this year’s incredible conference. Joe had an insightful conversation with Jennifer Randle of MaC Venture Capital, where they explored executive strategies for navigating financial markets. Looking forward to next year! Be sure to check out Morgan DeBaun’s podcast when she hosted Joe for an in-depth discussion on private equity and alternative investments: https://lnkd.in/eQW7XeZB.                                                                                                                       

Raine in India, doing our bit to transform entertainment….   November has been a landmark month for Raine India, with the completion of two transformative transactions that are expected to help reshape the media and entertainment landscape in India: The ~$8.5 billion merger between Star India and Viacom18 has officially closed, creating one of the largest media and entertainment powerhouses in India. This partnership between Disney and Reliance, along with a ~$1.4 billion additional growth investment by Reliance, is expected to help lead to the transformation of India’s digital streaming ecosystem and grow the linear TV space across entertainment and sports, setting the stage for a new era in content distribution. Raine was the lead financial adviser to Disney. In another milestone, the Karan Johar led Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment closed their deal with Adar Poonawalla’s Serene Productions for a strategic investment of INR 1,000 crores (~$120 million). This 50:50 partnership is expected to leverage Dharma’s storytelling expertise with Adar’s business acumen to expand into large-scale, multi-lingual productions, build franchises, enhance traditional entertainment formats and focus on creating Indian content for global audiences across various platforms. Raine was sole financial advisor to Dharma and Dharmatic. At Raine, we’re proud to have played our role as a trusted advisor in both these partnerships, which are poised to help redefine how media is distributed and how world-class content is created in India. The convergence of bold investments and visionary partnerships marks an inflection point for one of the world’s fastest-growing entertainment markets.   The future of Indian media and entertainment is very bright, and we’re thrilled to be part of this journey!

An Evening to Remember: Celebrating Women, Ideas, and Connections. Last week, Raine hosted its annual Women’s Dinner at Rosemary's in the West Village. From the moment we gathered, it was clear this would be an evening filled with inspiration, collaboration, and meaningful connections. A special highlight was the fireside chat with Nathan Hubbard, Co-Founder & CEO of Firebird Music, a Raine portfolio company, and Janelle Lopez Genzink, Founder & CEO of Volara Management and manager to Sabrina Carpenter. Janelle’s perspective on the growing influence of women in leadership roles in the music business was particularly inspiring—her journey is a testament to the transformative power of representation. Together, Nathan and Janelle sparked a lively discussion on what the future of the industry holds and how leaders can continue to drive positive change. Thank you to all who attended and contributed to the vibrant conversations and exchange of ideas. Events like these remind us of the power of bringing talented women together to share experiences and pave the way for future success. Here’s to continuing the conversation and pushing boundaries! Looking forward to the next time.

Raine Partner Fred Davis will be at #musictech at Slush 2024 in Helsinki on Wednesday Nov 20 delivering a keynote titled ”Tech Trends Transforming Entertainment.” Get ready to hear all about the tech trends that shape the industry! Full lineup and program here: https://buff.ly/3Z70b1p

We are excited to announce the closing of the ~$8.5Bn merger between Star India and Viacom18 creating one of the largest media and entertainment companies in India, with Reliance investing ~$1.4Bn into the JV as part of the transaction.   We would like to thank our clients at Disney for giving us the opportunity to work with them on this landmark transaction. The transaction marks one of the largest media M&A deals in India’s history and one of the largest M&A transactions in the country this year.   Congratulations to everyone involved.   Read more here – https://lnkd.in/eJ_TYXmm

Raine is proud to announce that we served as financial advisor to Endeavor, who has announced an agreement to sell OpenBet and IMG ARENA to OB Global Holdings LLC in a management buyout backed by Ari Emanuel, with involvement from OpenBet’s leadership team, including CEO Jordan Levin. This new chapter is expected to enable OpenBet to accelerate market expansion and drive product innovation, building on its strong momentum, premium offerings, and talented team. Exciting times ahead for OpenBet and IMG ARENA as they embark on this journey!