Brian Weiss

Billion-dollar PE buyouts are ramping, just see today's Squarespace news. Investors in media x agency deals should pay attention... Global deal activity is up 24% for 2024 YTD, with a total deal volume of $726B. Could be the beginning of a cyclical M&A rally, since deal volume was super depressed over the past couple years... ...and investors need to put money to work! Below are some recent public-to-private highlights, including a large media co deal where I did a deep analysis 👇 May 13 • Permira buying website builder Squarespace • Went public in 2021, closed 1st trading day at $5.9B valuation • $6.6 billion May 6 • EQT Group buying US digital consultancy Perficient • EQT also backs UTA, which has grown through M&A • $3 billion April 2 • Silver Lake buying diversified media co Endeavor • WME / UFC parent co TKO Global will stay public • $13 billion April 1 • Advent International buying payments processor Nuvei • Nuvie backed by celeb Ryan Reynolds • $6.3 billion Similarities across these recent deals include... - founder / CEOs staying on post deal - belief that targets are undervalued in public mkts - desire for more flexibility to grow, do M&A, and drive ent value for new owners That last point is key, as I think there's a strong desire to grow through M&A in a market where there are many sellers who can get picked up at good/fair prices VS the crazyness of 2020/2021. This is timely because... Last month I wrote about public-to-private deal dynamics in my Silver Lake / Endeavor analysis, check it out here --> https://lnkd.in/gtprBx7U I'm also working on an active client deal with similar characteristics, and it's important to know where capital is flowing, and why. Are you all seeing a similar trend?? -- I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open. #media #agency #creatoreconomy

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I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Net Influencer to discuss the creator economy's rapid growth, the expansion of 456 Growth (456 Growth Media and 456 Growth Talent); 25th Hour Social, and my predictions for the industry's future. Here are a few impactful insights from the interview that my partners Robert Bocchicchio, and Austin Cohen Esq., and the entire team at 456 Growth feel strongly about. Leveraging Data and Testing to Stay Ahead of Trends For us at 456 Growth, the key to staying ahead in the creator economy is a relentless focus on data, testing, and identifying new opportunities before they become industry norms. “You work for a big agency, and you have red tape that slows you down,” I said. “But overnight, snap your fingers—something could collapse. But also, an opportunity pops up.” 456 Growth’s agile, service-based approach involves “continuous testing, evaluation, and scaling” across its creator management and brand media divisions. According to our co-founder, some partners are eager to be on the cutting edge, while others prefer to see consistent results before adopting new strategies. “The brands that tested, even in a down economy, dominate because they didn’t lose their competitive advantage,” I explained. “The brands that tested early with things like whitelisting or Instagram Stories crushed it and built massive pyramids of creators driving 6 or 9-figure returns.” Moving from a “data-last” to a “data-first” perspective allows partnerships to be structured in a way that unlocks their full potential over the long term. With full visibility into both sides of the brand/creator relationship, 456 Growth can serve as an effective matchmaker. https://lnkd.in/e8Q6qej4 📊 #CreatorEconomy #DataDriven #InfluencerMarketing #456Growth #IndustryInsights #DigitalMarketing #Innovation #NetInfluencer #ContentCreation

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Since merging with Ticketmaster in 2010, Live Nation Entertainment has exploded in growth—from a $2 billion market cap to over $25 billion today. CEO Michael Rapino has led the charge, reshaping the live music industry. Let’s look at how they got here: Vertical Integration: They control everything—tickets, promotion, artist management, and venues—allowing them to dominate the live music ecosystem. Global Expansion: By acquiring promoters and venues worldwide, they’ve locked in exclusive deals, now dominating concerts and festivals globally. The Shift to Live Experiences: As streaming income dropped, artists turned to touring for revenue, making Live Nation essential for big-name acts. Sponsorship & Advertising: VIP packages and brand partnerships have helped fuel growth beyond ticket sales. But their rise hasn’t been without controversy. Concerns have grown over monopolistic control, especially regarding ticket prices and competition. As more artists face challenges selling out their tours, it’ll be interesting to see how Live Nation navigates this potential issue. For more on Michael Rapino and Live Nation Entertainment, subscribe to my free newsletter, "The Bag" at www.newbagdrops.com

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Processing AP weekly gives us a clear snapshot of our agency’s impact on brand services, as our payments to creator partners directly reflect the quality and type of talent involved in our unique programs. Lately, we've seen a high concentration of new creators joining us, particularly in areas like: 1️⃣ UGC content creation 2️⃣ Short-form video across Instagram Reels, TikTok Shop, and YouTube Shorts (social commerce is a major driver) 3️⃣ Affiliate-focused creators While the average deal value is smaller, the performance impact is significantly higher. Some insights from over $1.1M in transactions processed this week: - 500 unique creator payments - 150 first-time creator partners (30% are new to our programs) Investing in creator incubation, discovery, and retention is a challenge many brands and agencies face. Finding consistent, high-performing creators who drive value is no easy feat. Have you also seen a surge in content creators as valuable partners, and how is it shaping your business? #CreatorEconomy #InfluencerMarketing #ContentCreation #SocialCommerce #APProcessing #CreatorPartnerships

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I spoke with Inc. Magazine about how VSS Capital Partners helped GreenSlate become the go-to payroll software provider for film and TV productions. When building a company as a founder, securing private equity is an important part of the growth journey. But so is having somebody who believes in you and has invested in your business. Finding the right PE Firm and partner who understands the mission and is supportive of it is hugely important to achieving success. Read more about how and why it all came together:

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How are Venture Builders the equivalent to Producers in the Film Industry? What is a Producer in the Film Industry? The title "producer" suggests leadership, but the various producer roles—such as executive producer, co-producer, and associate producer—can be confusing to those unfamiliar with the film industry, leading to misconceptions about their responsibilities. “Producers tend to be jack-of-all-trade types, with no clear distinction between titles” Producers are versatile, often blurring the lines between different titles. At their core, they're problem-solvers overseeing film production, be it a movie, TV show, online series, or commercial. While involved in creative decisions, they aren't part of the primary creative or film crew. Instead, they ensure resources, logistics, and infrastructure are in place for everyone else. They're central to idea development, scriptwriting, funding, talent acquisition, contract negotiations, and scheduling. https://lnkd.in/gCJJqm6n

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The OpEd piece by Bill Miller (President, American Gaming Association) asking for federal action against illegal online gambling operators in the Pittsburgh-Tribune is spot on (see link). It's time for "the Feds" (Department of Justice and FBI) to take comprehensive action to block / disable illegal gambling sites that US players are accessing. The Feds were super effective at dismantling the illegal online prescription drug business in the 1990's. They can do the same for illegal online gambling sites and apps and help our industry protect players in the United States of America. https://lnkd.in/gb8mm7gp

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Why Shorts Creators Should Get More Sponsorships than Long-Form Creators 💰 You might be wondering “did I read that correctly?” Yes, yes you did. Shorts video sponsorships can actually outperform long-form sponsorships. Believe it or not, but those quick, bite-sized videos can be more effective at driving conversions than longer videos for several reasons. Here’s why: Focused Attention: At first glance, it might seem like long-form videos should convert better because they’re longer, right? But in reality, short-form integrations are the same length as the average long-form integration which is 60 seconds. The reason for this? Shorts are dedicated entirely to showcasing the product, whereas long-form videos tend to integrate the product in a way that might be irrelevant to the content, which means the viewer’s interest in the product is non-existent. When the content is actually relevant to the product, this means the viewers who are watching are actually the target customers. Higher Viewership: Many viewers don’t watch long-form videos through to the end, which means they may miss the sponsorship entirely. With a shorter format, the viewers won’t miss the integration since the viewer doesn't have to sit around for 10 minutes before the product is finally shown in the video. It’s so much easier to hold the viewer’s attention until the end with a 1-minute format rather than anything much longer than that. Consistent Connection: Short-form creators post more frequently (about once a day), building stronger relationships with their audience compared to the average long-form creator who might post once a week. Short-Form creators are really starting to build a stronger relationship with their fanbase as they're constantly showing up to their audience more than longform creators. Sure, long-form videos have their place, but when it comes to maximizing impact and ROI, shorts are the future of advertising!

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I am excited to announce officially today LOOR Distro! LOOR Distro is best summed up with two strategic goals. 1. License and distribute our artists content to create more revenue for them. 2. Share funding and viewing data with other streaming platforms so they can make safer content acquisition investments. LOOR Distro is our way of taking monetization to our artists and our platform to the next level. By using our technology and the insane amount of individual data, both in watch time and most unique to us, funding data for our pilots and TV shows, and providing it to distribution companies looking for new streaming content. We are now beginning the process of taking this information, and connecting with the distributors we've established relationships with over the years and licensing user funded projects to other streaming networks in partnership with our artists. Basically LOOR is a way for the streaming industry to analyze data from an individual pilot without having to make an entire series order on a guess. It can prove to a streaming platform that there is in fact a market for content outside of the typical niche family-friendly genre. This increases the reach of LOOR content, and creates another significant revenue stream for us and the film makers as well. But most importantly it shows other family-friendly streaming companies content and data that can reach new audiences. And we have the data, not just the gut instinct. The one thing that LOOR has, that other streaming companies do not is individual funding data. The difference between viewing data and funding data has been tremendously eye opening for us and even surprising. For example did you know young adults with children are less likely to spend their money to fund new content for their preschoolers? In most all instances subscribers fund content for themselves and their age group over that of children's content. Yet, because preschool content is usually watched on repeat as background noise throughout the day the viewing metrics have skewed the importance of this content to the paying subscriber. Causing streaming companies to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on basically background noise that's on repeat. Kids content as background noise doesn't create loyalty and increases churn. Our viewing metrics and funding metrics are able to read these conclusions. LOOR Distro is something we've been working on since we started forming relationships and building the technology. Data has always been integral to every bit of code we wrote. But it's also the result of going to film festivals and meeting with others in the creative space. Talking to distributors and learning about their inability to to test content on newer demographics without significant risk. So for now if you are a distributor, international or within the United States looking to expand your content library. Setup a time to connect with us.

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Ziff Davis acquired CNET for over $100M. The new owner is betting on more digital M&A with its $670M warchest. That price is down from $1.8B CBS paid for it in 2008. And $500M current owner Red Ventures paid for it in 2020. Let’s break it down👇 ---SELLER: CNET--- • Tech news and reviews site • Drives traffic via SEO • Monetizes via affiliate links • 38M visitors in Jun 2024 • Launched 1994 ---M&A HISTORY: CNET--- • 2002 CNET Networks acquired tech publisher Ziff-Davis Inc. (different co) and ZDNet for $1.6B • 2008 CBS acquired CNET Networks for $1.8B • 2020 Red Ventures acquired CNET for $500M ---SELLER OWNER: Red Ventures--- • PE-backed marketing-turned-media company • Provides client services, owns brands, makes investments • Portfolio incl Bankrate, Lonely Planet, Points Guy, others ---BUYER: Ziff Davis--- • Vertically focused digital media and internet company • Brands incl PCMag, Mashable, IGN, Retailmenot, Lifehacker • 2010 CEO led buyout of ZD w/ Great Hill Partners • 2012 ZD sold to J2 Global, went on M&A spree • Founded 1927 as mag publisher ---FINANCIALS: Ziff Davis--- Stock price as of 10:10AM ET on 8.12… • Stock price: $41.64 • Mkt Cap: $2B • Down 38% YTD • Down 39% YoY 1H 2024 financials as of 6.30.24... • Revenue: Up 0.3% to $635M • Adj EBITDA: Down 2% to $197M • Adj EBITDA margin: Down 0.7 pps to 31% • FCF: Down 27% to $73M • C&CE: $687M ---DEAL DETAILS--- • Undisclosed • Will close in 3Q 2024 ---DEAL VALUE PROP--- • Audience is attractive to tech advertisers • Target consumers/businesses navigating tech/telecom purchases • Part of ZD digital media rollup strategy ---WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING--- I'll write more about the deal in my newsetter this Friday. I'm curous to dig into financial performance trend of Ziff Davis, which we can see in public filings. Of note, its 1H 2024 performance has declined VS 1H 2023. Wonder what the key macro VS micro drivers are. I want to better understand viability of its digital media rollup strategy, and future M&A strategy, particuarly since it has $670M of cash on hand and CEO Vivek Shah said he wants to keep doing deals. --- I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open.

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In one click you can get the license for even 500 Copyrighted Movies/Sports/Music brands directly to your FAST/SVOD/Mobile app/AVOD/CTV/Payment & Billing Systems. Many companies have Raised Funds or made Exit based on our content. #raisingcapital #developmentfunding #commercialrealestate #syndications #brokerdealers #equityinvesting #tradepaltform #venturecapital #growthcapital #familyoffice #mergeracquitision #mining #preciousmetals #financialadvisor #lineofcredit #realestatefinance #hotelinvestor #oilandgas #greenenergy #carboncredit #consultant #privatedebt #limitedpartner #equityinvestor #privatejet #yachts #hospitality #opportunity #success #privacy #development #investing #hnwi #assetmanagement #capitalmarkets #moneymanagement #patriarchy #bankingandfinance #structuredfinance #privateplacement #offmarket #mergersandacquisitions #generalpartner #corporate #institutionalinvestor #assetsfinance

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In this episode of Let's Be Blunt with Montel, we sit down with William McKenzie, a true pioneer in the cannabis industry. William's story is one of transformation and resilience. From his beginnings as a legacy operator in Northern California to becoming the CEO & Founder of Left Coast Holdings, a leading cannabis cultivation, processing, and retail company in Michigan, his journey is nothing short of inspiring. William shares his experiences navigating the challenging shift from the legacy market to the legal cannabis space, providing insights into the evolving perceptions of cannabis over the past decade. We also discuss his personal battles and triumphs, including his recovery from addiction, maintaining 12 years of sobriety, and achieving a remarkable health transformation by losing 100 pounds. But that's not all—William is also making waves with his new community initiative for cannabis operators, the Elite Cannabis Operators Mastermind group. This platform fosters collaboration, accountability, and mutual support among industry peers, helping to push the cannabis sector forward. Join us as William McKenzie talks about: 1.His start in the cannabis industry and the challenges of transitioning to the legal market. 2.The evolution of cannabis perception over the last decade. 3.Balancing sobriety with running a cannabis business. 4.His significant health and wellness achievements. 5.Building a supportive community for cannabis operators. 6.His current operations at Left Coast Holdings and what sets them apart. 7.Strategies for maintaining a consistent consumer experience across multiple retail locations. 8.The mission behind the Elite Cannabis Operators Mastermind group. 9.Exciting future developments for Left Coast Holdings. Tune in to gain valuable insights from one of the top voices in the cannabis industry and learn why collaboration and community are crucial for the industry's success. https://lnkd.in/eE9PRWnu

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The journey from traditional media to build Coinage Media as the first Web3 Media DAO/Coop has been long and arduous, but I firmly believe that the only way to solve the problem of decaying trust in media and to empower creators from avoiding the same fate is to lean into Web3 Thanks to Pedro for letting me share my journey (and everyone who has minted to co-own Coinage with me) ⬇ #crypto #media #Web3

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This channel is a failure. $2k/month might seem not bad, with sponsorships that could be $10k/month! The truth is, this channel is not suitable for sponsor placements, and the staff is more costly than $2k/m. We build & grow YouTube channels for firms & founders - send me your questions and I'll try to answer them!

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