Los Angeles-based investment firm Shamrock Capital has acquired a portfolio of film, television, and music rights from Vine Alternative Investments Group.
Long-time MBW readers will remember Vine as the company that acquired a catalog of more than 150 songs from Grammy award-winning and multi-platinum-selling producer, songwriter, and DJ Calvin Harris in 2020. MBW sources have suggested that Vine paid in the region of $105 million for Harris’s song portfolio.
In total, the portfolio of rights acquired by Shamrock from Vine – including that Calvin Harris catalog – delivers Shamrock ownership interest in more than 550 feature films, over 2,000 hours of television programming and over 450 songs.
The deal’s value was undisclosed. However, citing Shamrock Partner Patrick Russo, the Wall Street Journal says it marks Shamrock’s largest-ever individual transaction via its Content Strategy vertical, which was established around a decade ago.
According to Russo, via the WSJ, the assets acquired as part of the Vine deal bring Shamrock’s holdings to ‘more than 1,000 films and 3,000 hours of TV and well in excess of 20,000 musical compositions’.
Shamrock Capital is, of course, best known for buying the master rights to Taylor Swift’s first six studio albums from Ithaca Holdings in November 2020. Sources have since told MBW that deal cost Shamrock in the region of $405 million.
In January 2023, Billboard reported that Shamrock – alongside Universal Music Group – was one of two buyers of Dr. Dre’s music assets, with around $200 million changing hands in total.
In February last year, Shamrock raised more than $600 million in commitments for its Shamrock Capital Content Fund III (SCCF III) – the third equity fund for its Content Strategy.
Shamrock’s Patrick Russo said at the time that Shamrock would use the funds “to capitalize on the trends, changes, and opportunities across the global media and entertainment landscape.”
At the time (in February 2023), Shamrock reported that, including the SCCF III commitments, its Content Strategy had reached $2 billion in AUM.
According to the WSJ, the Vine portfolio transaction brings the value of Shamrock’s Content Strategy assets to roughly $2.4 billion.
In connection with the Shamrock transaction, an affiliate of Shamrock Capital has entered into a servicing arrangement with HighPoint Media Advisors, a newly formed media advisory company led by former Vine Principals, Stephen Kovach and Bill Lambert.
Separate and unrelated to the transaction with Shamrock, Vine said it will pivot its attention to the “growing sector of independent content production”, continuing to oversee its development and production studios Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG) and EuropaCorp.
“As Shamrock’s Content Strategy continues to expand, we are thrilled to add this remarkable portfolio to our existing platform of premium content.”
Patrick Russo, Shamrock
Discussing the Vine acquisition, Patrick Russo, Partner and Executive Committee Member at Shamrock Capital, said: “Jim, Bill and Stephen were early movers in the entertainment royalty sector and, over time, curated an impressive portfolio of film and television libraries and music catalogues that are timeless and hold deep cultural significance.
“As Shamrock’s Content Strategy continues to expand, we are thrilled to add this remarkable portfolio to our existing platform of premium content.”
“This acquisition only strengthens our commitment to the filmed entertainment and music industries.”
Jason Sklar, Shamrock Capital
Jason Sklar, Partner and Executive Committee Member at Shamrock Capital, added: “We are long-term believers in content. This acquisition only strengthens our commitment to the filmed entertainment and music industries, and we look forward to collaborating with our major studio and music publishing partners to maximize the impact and enduring value of these unique works.”
“We are delighted to have worked with Shamrock on this landmark transaction.”
Jim Moore, Vine Alternative Investments
Jim Moore, CEO of Vine Alternative Investments, said: “We are delighted to have worked with Shamrock on this landmark transaction. We believe their experienced stewardship of these assets will allow Vine to concentrate our focus on investments in independent content creation.”
Lambert and Kovach in a joint statement: “This is an exciting new relationship for the HighPoint team, and we look forward toward to deepening our relationship with Shamrock Capital as we work closely with them on the iconic portfolio we built over the past decade.”
Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Shamrock on the transaction. Salem Partners LLC served as financial advisor and Paul Hastings LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Vine on the transaction. O’Melveny & Myers LLP served as legal counsel to HighPoint Media Advisors on the transaction.
Elsewhere at Shamrock, in June 2021, the company closed a $1 billion growth fund called Shamrock Capital Growth Fund V, and a month later it raised another $400 million for a fund to invest in entertainment IP, including music copyrights. It also raised $196 million to offer loan structures to IP owners.
Vine, which was founded in 2006, has invested around $1.3 billion of capital in the media and entertainment sector to date, across more than 26 transactions.Music Business Worldwide