LeBron’s Entertainment Company Receives Significant Investment

LeBron James continues to find success off the court in the business world.

According to reports from Front Office Sports on Wednesday, James’ production studio, SpringHill Company, has received a major investment from some of the biggest names in sports, apparel and gaming. Led by RedBird Capital Partners and joined by Nike, Fenway Sports Group and Epic Games (creator of “Fortnite”), the Lakers superstar and his company accepted an investment at a $725 million valuation.

The investment will help SpringHill, producers of “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and the UNINTERRUPTED network, expand in TV, film, gaming, merchandise and live events on an international scale.

FOS outlined SpringHill’s plans with each of these new partners:

• The company said it would “work with Epic to bring unique content to the metaverse.”
• It is planning to “create original content in and around the sports, teams, and venues associated with FSG.” In March, James and Carter bought into Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool, and Roush Fenway Racing.
• SpringHill said it would expand its partnership with Nike around athlete storytelling.

This $725 million investment is a huge jump from the $100 million SpringHill raised in June 2020 from a group that included Guggenheim Partners, UC Investments, and SC.Holdings. Serena Williams, Elisabeth Murdoch, and executives from Live Nation Entertainment, Apollo Global Management, and the Red Sox.

This most recent investment from the RedBird-led group is believed to now own nearly half of the company, but James and his longtime partner/CEO Maverick Carter still hold the controlling stake, per the LA Times.

Carter said this influx of capital will help SpringHill expand its own content creation and dip into the acquisition other production companies.

“We’ll be able to finance our own projects,” the SpringHill Ceo said, via the LA Times. “We’re going to build up our physical production arm so we’ll be able to finance and control the production of the things we make, so when we talk about empowering creators, we can really leave creators in control.”

RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale said the goal is to create a “multibillion-dollar diversified culture and content company” while catering to LeBron and Carter’s vision.

The post LeBron’s Entertainment Company Receives Significant Investment appeared first on The Spun.