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

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

previous arrow
next arrow

ACF Investment Bank advises academy award winning production company Two One Five Entertainment on its investment from The North Road Company


ACF Investment Bank is pleased to announce that it has advised Two One Five Entertainment on its investment from The North Road Company.


“Since this was our first time working with an investment bank and raising capital for any of our businesses, I wasn’t sure what to expect. ACF has a great reputation and came highly recommended from several people that I hold in high regard. Overall, the experience working with Richard, Milos and Thomas was pure joy.  They were the perfect partner for us, as they educated us as we were working through the process, they challenged us to think bigger about the scope and scale of our business, and they aggressively represented our business in the marketplace bringing multiple opportunities to us in a very challenging economic time.  The partnership and guidance they provided was essential and they were extremely easy to work with.  I only hope this is the first of many deals that we are able to execute together.”

Shawn Gee
Two One Five Entertainment


Two One Five Entertainment


Two One Five Entertainment was founded by Academy® Award winner Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tarik “Black Thought” Trotter. The company has produced for media partners such as Amazon, Disney, Netflix, AMC, BET, CNN, Showtime, YouTube, and Twitch.

Their work includes a wide breadth of projects ranging from feature films and television specials to documentaries, animated series, podcasts, and digital programming. Two One Five executive produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning historical documentary Descendant, which was acquired by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground.

Two One Five executive produced Sam Pollard’s The League, a documentary on the journey of Negro league baseball, which has been nominated for three Critics Choice Awards, and Juneteenth: A Global Celebration for Freedom, a music variety show which aired on CNN to highlight African American advocates, trailblazers and creators. Most recently, the company has produced Rise Up, Sing Out, a collection of animated musical shorts for Disney Junior (which earned a NAACP Image Awards nomination for “Outstanding Short Form Series”), and they are currently in production on an A&E series on James Brown (alongside Mick Jagger).

Recent projects include SUMMER OF SOUL (….OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED), directed by Questlove, which won both the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Documentary for its story of the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.

Since 2009, Questlove and Black Thought’s The Roots has also been the house band for NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.


The Founders


The founders are acclaimed performance artists in multiple creative disciplines. 

In addition to creating Two One Five Entertainment, Ahmir Thompson, and Tarik Trotter also founded The Roots – a band that has been among the most progressive acts in contemporary music. The group went platinum and gold with successive studio releases and won numerous Grammy Awards. The Roots are also the late-night beloved house band of The Tonight Show with television host, Jimmy Fallon.

Ahmir Thompson’s directorial debut, Summer of Soul, was honored Best Documentary Feature Film awardat the 2022 Academy Awards, Best Documentary at the BAFTA’s and Independent Spirit Awards, amongst others. Ahmir is also a drummer, DJ, producer, director, culinary entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, and member of The Roots.

Tarik Trotter is a co-founder of The Roots, and critically acclaimed solo artist, actor, writer, producer, and creator. He has won three GRAMMY® Awards and three NAACP Image Awards. He has collaborated with Eminem, John Legend, J Dilla, Big Pun, Linkin Park, Logic, and Fall Out Boy.

Tarik also launched musical, Black No More, off-Broadway in February 2023 and co-produced the multiplatinum GRAMMY® Award-winning Original Broadway Cast Recording of Hamilton. His presence has seamlessly translated into film and television roles such as HBO’s The Deuce. He also appeared in the feature direction debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Tick, Tick…Boom!, which received two nominations at the 2022 Golden Globe® Awards.

Shawn Gee was an artist manager and Founding Partner at Maverick, he has not only sustained, but expanded the legacies of GRAMMY® Award-winning chart-topping long time clients such as The Roots and Jill Scott. As President of Live Nation Urban, he has redefined the live space for hip hop, R&B, and soul artists with essential festival brands and experiences such as Broccoli City Festival, The Roots Picnic, Summer Block Party Series, and more. Recognized as a leader, he has appeared on the Billboard “Power 100” and “R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players” list multiple times, graced Rolling Stone’s “Future 25” and landed on Pollstar’s “Impact 50,” among others.


Award Winning Productions



Other Notable Productions



The North Road Company


Founded in 2022 by Peter Chernin, The North Road Company is a global, multi-genre studio that produces scripted, documentary, and non-scripted film and TV content across the United States and international markets. North Road comprises market-leading production entities including Chernin Entertainment, the scripted TV and film business formed in 2010; Red Arrow Studios’ U.S. assets (Kinetic Content, Left/Right, Half Yard, and 44 Blue Productions); Words + Pictures, the premium non-fiction business; and an international business devoted to strategic acquisitions and localized programming. North Road is one of the largest suppliers of TV and film content, with over 85 active productions from Chernin Entertainment, Words + Pictures, and Red Arrow’s U.S. portfolios.


ACF Investment Bank


ACF is a global investment bank specializing in selling, buying, fundraising, securitization, and pre/post deal services for businesses, intellectual property holders and brands in the Media and Entertainment sector.

After three decades of transacting market leading deals, ACF has grown to be the pre-eminent Mergers and Acquisitions advisor in the Media and Entertainment sector, having completed over 100 Media and Entertainment deals with a total deal value of over $6 billion.

Recent deals include Shamrock Capital’s acquisition of Boardwalk Pictures, the sale of Critical Content to SK Global, the sale of 72 Films to Fremantle, the securitization of Syco Entertainment’s Got Talent Franchise, conclusion of the sale of Paddington Intellectual Property to StudioCanal, and the iconic sale of The Lord of the Rings Intellectual Property to Embracer Group.

If you are an Entrepreneur, Intellectual Property Owner, Conglomerate, or Shareholder looking to realize your assets or raise investment to grow your business, we can help you evaluate your strategic objectives, assess potential investors or acquirers, advise on transactional terms, and potential financing structures, whilst guiding you and your management teams through a clear process.

If you are a Private Equity Firm, Financial Investor, Conglomerate, or Shareholder, and are thinking of entering the content space through acquisition, or selling your content assets, we have the experience and relationships to help you identify the right target and bring you the deal that achieves your strategic objective.

To arrange a meeting with our Senior Management Team, please contact Laura.Cutter@acfib.com or call + 1 424 332 0450.

<b>Thomas Dey</b><br> Chief Executive Officer<br> <b>ACF Investment Bank</b>
Thomas Dey
Chief Executive Officer
ACF Investment Bank

<b>Richard Gray</b><br> Managing Director<br> <b>ACF Investment Bank</b>
Richard Gray
Managing Director
ACF Investment Bank


“It has been a pleasure to work with Ahmir, Tarik, and Shawn. They have kicked off Two One Five with a fantastic hit with the Oscar winning Summer of Soul and this partnership with The North Road Company will support them in their continued success on screen.”

Richard Gray
Managing Director
ACF Investment Bank


5/5

What People Are Saying

“Since this was our first time working with an investment bank and raising capital for any of our businesses, I wasn’t sure what to expect. ACF has a great reputation and came highly recommended from several people that I hold in high regard. Overall, the experience working with Richard, Milos and Thomas was pure joy. They were the perfect partner for us, as they educated us as we were working through the process, they challenged us to think bigger about the scope and scale of our business, and they aggressively represented our business in the marketplace bringing multiple opportunities to us in a very challenging economic time. The partnership and guidance they provided was essential and they were extremely easy to work with. I only hope this is the first of many deals that we are able to execute together.”

Shawn Gee
Two One Five Entertainment

"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