Raine Group Closes Fund II With $860M

LBO Wire
By Staff
January 26, 2015

 

Merchant bank Raine Group said it closed its second growth equity fund on $850 million, exceeding its initial target of $750 million, according to a news release.

Raine Partners II LP will focus on growth investments in digital, media and entertainment, and sports and lifestyle companies. Earlier this month the firm said it raised approximately $853.6 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing stated there had been 101 investors in the second fund.

The firm said so far it has made two investments from the fund.

DollarsIn July, the firm acquired a minority stake in Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, the restaurant operator and brand licensing company. Raine in August led a $41 million Series C investment in DraftKings Inc., a fantasy sports business in the U.S.

Raine, which has venture fund and hedge fund platforms, typically invests $20 million to $70 million, with typical holding periods of three to five years, the firm said in its January registered investment adviser filing with the SEC.

The second fund follows Raine Partners I LP, which closed in October 2011. At the time of that close the firm said it had $475 million in assets under management.

The firm also said it appointed Tom Freston as senior adviser. Mr. Freston was the founder of Firefly3, a media and entertainment focused investment and consultancy company, and was previously was chief executive of Viacom Inc.

The New York firm, which has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Shanghai, recently opened an office in London. The firm was founded in 2009 by Joseph Ravitch and Jeffery Sine, in partnership with talent agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC. In addition to making growth investments in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors, Raine also providers investment banking advisory services.