Private markets investment firm Great Mountain Partners (GMP) has closed a new $600 million fund to pursue media investments.
Dubbed Saranac Holdings LP, the single-investor fund will target music, film and TV, sports, gaming, and live entertainment. The fund aims to capitalize on “accelerating convergence of media, technology, and consumer experiences,” GMP said on Tuesday (December 9).
To start, Saranac will participate in some of GMP’s existing investments, including indie music company Concord, in which GMP has previously said it has a “significant stake.”
“The media sector continues to evolve, creating compelling opportunities in businesses that sit at the intersection of premium content, audiences, and new monetization models,” said Jon Rotolo, co-founder of GMP.
“This fund reflects our shared conviction in the durability of this sector and our ability to build value through thoughtful investing and active ownership.”
“The media sector continues to evolve, creating compelling opportunities in businesses that sit at the intersection of premium content, audiences, and new monetization models.”
Jon Rotolo, Great Mountain Partners
The fund will aim for controlling stakes in lower middle-market firms or “influential” minority investments, focusing on scalable platforms, differentiated IP rights and strategies, and “opportunities to drive growth through operational value creation,” GMP said.
New Haven, Connecticut-headquartered GMP has $10 billion in assets under management, with four areas of focus: Media & Entertainment, Clean & Green Energy, Infrastructure, and Financial Services.
Among its more notable investments has been a stake in AI-powered music platform Aimi and its 2021 acquisition of German film and TV distributor Square One Entertainment.
It was also one of the private market investors to acquire Morrison Hotel Galley, a catalog of some 100,000 images from 125 music photographers.
With music assets continuing to grow in value, investors small and large have been launching new funds to capture some of the market.
In just the past year, we’ve seen institutional investors like Bain Capital join forces with Warner Music Group to launch a $1.2 billion music rights fund while The Circuit Group launched a $500 million fund with backing from Create Music Group.
Smaller players have also jumped into the field, including instrument maker Yamaha, which launched a $50 million fund this year to invest in music startups.Music Business Worldwide