Lord of the Rings Deal
Lord of the Rings Deal
LOTR

CREDIT: THE SAUL ZAENTZ COMPANY

EXCELLENCE
"One Deal to rule them all"
Thomas Dey

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Syco
EXCELLENCE
"ACF's certainly got talent"
Ian Rosenblatt OBE

CREDIT: SYCO ENTERTAINMENT

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Bear Grylls
INTEGRITY
“You only get one chance
at life and you have to
grab it boldly”
Bear Grylls

CREDIT: BEAR GRYLLS VENTURES

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Paddington
INSIGHT
“Success doesn't come
to you, you go to it.”
Marva Collins

CREDIT: PADDINGTON AND COMPANY

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Shamrock Capital - Boardwalk Pictures credit
INSIGHT
“Stay true to yourself, never let
what somebody says distract
you from your goals.”
Michelle Obama

CREDIT: BOARDWALK PICTURES

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

72 Films

CREDIT: 72 FILMS

INSIGHT
“Your positive action
combined with
positive thinking
results in success.”
Shiv Khera

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Pilgrim

CREDIT: PILGRIM STUDIOS

INSIGHT
“Success comes to
those who act!”
Henry David Thoreau

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Leftfield
INSIGHT
“The key to success is to
focus on goals not obstacles”
Unknown

CREDIT: LEFTFIELD ENTERTAINMENT

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Plimsoll Productions

CREDIT: PLIMSOLL PRODUCTIONS

INSIGHT
“Success is not final,
failure is not fatal:
it is the courage to
continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Love Productions

CREDIT: LOVE PRODUCTIONS

INTEGRITY
“ When something
is important enough,
you do it even if the odds
are not in your favour”
Elon Musk

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Top Gear
EXCELLENCE
“Success comes to
those who act”
Henry David Thoreau

CREDIT: TOP GEAR

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

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ACF advise IAC on the sale of Electus and Artists First

Above: Chopped, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Black-ish, Jane The Virgin, Adam Ruins Everything

ACF’s 8th Transaction in 2018

ACF Investment Bank is pleased to announce its eighth transaction in 2018 – the sale of Electus and Artists First to Propagate Content.

ACF is the leading global investment bank in the media and entertainment space specializing in selling, buying, fundraising, and pre/post deal services for businesses in media and entertainment.

With offices in the UK and USA, we have advised on more than 90 transactions in this sector with a combined transaction value of over $5 billion.

Electus

Founded in 2009, Electus is one of the most innovative independent production companies with talent, production and distribution under one roof and over the last five years, it is the only television production company to consistently have a brand funded network show on the air.

The company has a successful track record of producing scripted and unscripted television series, across the comedy, drama and reality genres including successful long-running popular reality shows including Running Wild with Bear Grylls (NBC) and Chopped (Food Network), compelling scripted content including Jane the Virgin (CW), Adam Ruins Everything (TruTV) and Hot Date (POP TV) and a robust distribution business which allows Electus to retain the rights to many of their shows and formats.

Artists First

Electus is the majority owner of talent management firm Artists First, which was founded in 2001 and is led by Peter Principato.

Artists First has a stellar track record of developing talent in front of and behind the camera that create content across all mediums, as well as producing shows such as Black-ish, and Grown-ish.

This unique partnership between Electus and Artists First ensures early access to key talent and has allowed Electus to build a secure roster of top talent.

Programming

Chopped for Food Network
Chopped for Food Network
Jane The Virgin for CW
Jane The Virgin for CW
Peter Principato, Artists First
Peter Principato, Artists First
Black-ish
Black-ish
Chris Grant, CEO, Electus
Chris Grant, CEO, Electus
Drew Buckley, COO, Electus
Drew Buckley, COO, Electus
Richard Gray, MD, ACF Investment Bank
Richard Gray, MD, ACF Investment Bank

“Electus has greatly benefited from the advice and experience of ACF. They have an excellent understanding of the deal process and a clear idea of what matters to Electus’ continued success. Their expertize has been invaluable to us and we would not hesitate to recommend them”

Chris Grant and Drew Buckley, Electus

Thomas Dey

“It has been a pleasure and an honor to work with IAC, Chris Grant, Drew Buckley and John Pollak in finding a new home for Electus”

Thomas Dey, Chief Executive Officer, President and Founder
ACF Investment Bank

★★★★★ 5/5

What People Are Saying

"ACF’s certainly got talent. Their team, led by the ever-tenacious Thomas Dey, delivered on their promises and introduced the perfect partners to achieve our goals."

Ian Rosenblatt OBE, Director
Syco Entertainment

"Given the complexities and importance of the rights at stake in our transaction, we interviewed several investment bank candidates at length before retaining ACF to guide our process.  We could not have chosen better!  ACF personnel were dedicated, creative, practical, responsive and deeply knowledgeable about the intricacies of the sales process. Over the months involved, Thomas, Richard, Tatiana and the rest of the ACF staff met with and worked skillfully and credibly with scores of potential buyers and with our own employees leading ultimately to a high value and very fair outcome benefitting both our company and the buyer. They have our deep respect and gratitude for a job so well accomplished"

Marty Glick, COO
The Saul Zaentz Company

“At this stage of 72’s development, there are great advantages and opportunities of joining forces with Fremantle. Their extensive international infrastructure and expertise will provide 72 Films with the platform to have our work seen across the world. We know and like their excellent team. And they offer us not only fantastic support but complete creative freedom so we can continue to work in the same way.

It’s been a real pleasure working with Thomas Dey and the whole team at ACF. They are brilliant at what they do. And alongside Matisse it’s been an incredible team behind this deal.”

Mark Raphael, David Glover, Founders and Chief Executive Officers
72 Films

“This exciting new deal between Broke and Bones and Netflix marks an exciting period of content creation, demonstrating the strong relationship between market leading creatives and the streaming platforms. ACF brokered the deal using our strong track record, experience and access in the UK and USA scripted markets. Premium content continues to lead the market with strong deals that ACF have closed including advising Mammoth Screen on sale to ITV, Neal Street to All3Media, Left Bank Pictures to Sony, Thinkfactory to ITV, Paddington Bear to Studio Canal, New Pictures to All3Media, and Carnival Pictures to NBC Universal.”

Thomas Dey, CEO
ACF Investment Bank

"It has been an incredible journey for Delbert and I to get to the stage where we can build out our adventure shows under our own Studio. We stand on the shoulders of many giants, the ACF team have been incredible guides through the process - at its heart this is about building the ultimate home of adventure programming worldwide."

Bear Grylls & Delbert Shoopman
The Natural Studios

"Critical Content has been a leading player in the unscripted space for the last decade, led by a first class team. Media continues to dominate the deal landscape, with content leading the pack. What a great start to 2022! Congratulations to the whole team."

Thomas Dey, CEO
ACF Investment Bank

"Boardwalk Pictures are one of the preeminent producers of premium content and this partnership with Shamrock secures Boardwalks positioning as a leading player in this market. Shamrock’s deep understanding and experience in the content space makes them great partners for Andrew and the team at Boardwalk. I look forward to seeing the growth and future success of this partnership."

RIchard Gray, Managing Director
ACF Investment Bank