Photo Credit: RedBird IMI
Jeff Zucker is on the hunt for major entertainment properties — with $1 billion in hand.
Jeff Zucker, RedBird Capital Partners, and International Media Investments announced their partnership to create RedBird IMI, an investment venture focused on the acquisition and investment of large-scale media, entertainment, and sports content on a global basis. RedBird IMI has an initial committed capital of $1 billion.
Chief Executive Officer of RedBird IMI, Jeff Zucker, is also joining RedBird as an Operating Partner. Zucker is a powerhouse with over three decades of leadership experience across news, sports, entertainment, and digital innovation. He was CEO of CNN from 2013 to 2022 and President of Turner Sports from 2019 to 2022. Jeff Zucker also spent 25 years at NBC Universal, serving as CEO from 2007 to 2011. In 2007, he co-founded the online streaming service Hulu.
“I’ve spent 35 years running media businesses at the intersection of news, sports, and entertainment, creating new brands and resurrecting old ones,” says Zucker.
“That experience has given me unparalleled perspective for this unique time in media, and the combination of the RedBird and IMI capital and strategic discipline, combined with my operational experience, will give this joint venture a unique advantage in the current media landscape.”
“The RedBird IMI joint venture has come together at an important time as the media industry continues to evolve in both content creation and distribution to meet the evolving expectations of consumers globally,” says Nart Bouran, CEO of IMI.
“Partnering with Jeff Zucker and Gerry Cardinale will enable us to bring tremendous operational, investing, and financial expertise to make impactful and transformative investments across the media, entertainment, and sports landscapes.”
“We are very pleased to partner with IMI to create a long-term, fully capitalized investment vehicle that can own and operate content-focused businesses across the media spectrum in the US and globally,” adds Gerry Cardinale, RedBird Founder and Managing Partner.
“The skill and experience of the combined team will allow us to identify assets that will benefit from the development of success-based capital to further scale or diversify while also enabling the development of new companies competitively advantaged as market and consumer trends continue to evolve.”
“With Jeff as our CEO, this platform will integrate substantial operating expertise with sophisticated financial and investing acumen to deploy transformational capital on a scaled basis.”