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

News

German Expansion

ACF expands into Germany with appointment of Bernd Wendeln as Head of M&A Europe

October 16, 2025

Thomas Dey Interview

What makes a creative company attractive to investors?

August 1, 2025

Growth Thumb

ACF defies market volatility with multi-focused expansion

June 27, 2025

See Saw

See-Saw Films sells a majority stake to Mediawan

March 7, 2025

Done + Dusted

Endeavor’s strategic investment in global live broadcast and events powerhouse, Done+Dusted

January 6, 2025

MIP LONDON

ACF attended MIP LONDON

January 6, 2025

Thomas Dey - Variety 500

Thomas Dey – Variety500 – Top 500 Entertainment Business Leaders 2024 | Variety.com

January 6, 2025

Content London

ACF attended Content London, 2nd – 5th December 2024

November 20, 2024

ACF and TPC

ACF partners with TPC, one of the largest independent content financiers in the industry

November 20, 2024

GKIDS

ACF advises Academy Award-winning North American Distributor GKIDS on its sale to TOHO Co., Ltd

October 18, 2024

Forest Road Kiro

ACF advises Forest Road in its acquisition of ERT Formula E Team

October 18, 2024

Mipcom 2024

ACF are attending MIPCOM in Cannes, France, 21-24 October 2024

October 14, 2024

Thomas Dey Realscreen Advisory Board 2025

Thomas Dey joins the Realscreen Summit 2025 Advisory Board

July 4, 2024

Thomas Dey

ACF evolves to build for the future

May 30, 2024

Thomas Dey

ACF Investment Bank’s Thomas Dey talks next-level consolidation

May 7, 2024

e-shot - range

ACF Investment Bank advised Forest Road Asset Management LLC’s investor group on their investment in Range Media Partners.

April 22, 2024

mipTV

Meet us at MIPTV – Palais des Festivals – 8th to 10th April

April 4, 2024

Broadcast April 2024

Broadcast Magazine – Thomas Dey Interview

April 2, 2024

In Focus Major European Groups

In focus: the major European production and distribution groups

March 20, 2024

ACF Forest Road Merger

ACF Investment Bank sells a majority equity stake to The Forest Road Company

January 19, 2024

Thomas Dey - Variety 500

Thomas Dey – Variety500 – Top 500 Entertainment Business Leaders | Variety.com

January 4, 2024

ACF Investment Bank advises Two One Five Entertainment on its investment from The North Road Company

November 7, 2023

Saul Zaentz Film Library

ACF advises The Saul Zaentz Company on the Sale of its Iconic Film Library to Teatro della Pace Films

October 4, 2023

ACF at Mipcom 2023

ACF attended MIPCOM in Cannes, France, 16-19 October 2023

September 21, 2023

Investment in Intellectual Property

Investment in Intellectual Property is accelerating as Private Equity’s appetite in the entertainment sector grows

July 13, 2023

The Wilbur Smith Universe

Wilbur Smith IP Rights up for sale – ACF hired to handle the sale process

May 17, 2023

Thunderbird

Thunderbird engages IP, M&A advisor ACF for strategic review

May 16, 2023

Evolution

Evolution sparks the flame as Private Equity closes in on Content

February 27, 2023

Shamrock Thumbnail

ACF advises Private Equity Firm Shamrock Capital Advisors on its investment in Boardwalk Pictures

February 16, 2023

Thomas Dey

Thomas Dey is listed in Variety500

January 5, 2023

★★★★★ 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."

ACF Investment Bank