Lord of the Rings Deal
Lord of the Rings Deal
LOTR

CREDIT: THE SAUL ZAENTZ COMPANY

EXCELLENCE
"One Deal to rule them all"
Thomas Dey

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Syco
EXCELLENCE
"ACF's certainly got talent"
Ian Rosenblatt OBE

CREDIT: SYCO ENTERTAINMENT

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Bear Grylls
INTEGRITY
“You only get one chance
at life and you have to
grab it boldly”
Bear Grylls

CREDIT: BEAR GRYLLS VENTURES

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Paddington
INSIGHT
“Success doesn't come
to you, you go to it.”
Marva Collins

CREDIT: PADDINGTON AND COMPANY

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Shamrock Capital - Boardwalk Pictures credit
INSIGHT
“Stay true to yourself, never let
what somebody says distract
you from your goals.”
Michelle Obama

CREDIT: BOARDWALK PICTURES

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Pilgrim

CREDIT: PILGRIM STUDIOS

INSIGHT
“Success comes to
those who act!”
Henry David Thoreau

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Leftfield
INSIGHT
“The key to success is to
focus on goals not obstacles”
Unknown

CREDIT: LEFTFIELD ENTERTAINMENT

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Plimsoll Productions

CREDIT: PLIMSOLL PRODUCTIONS

INSIGHT
“Success is not final,
failure is not fatal:
it is the courage to
continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Love Productions

CREDIT: LOVE PRODUCTIONS

INTEGRITY
“ When something
is important enough,
you do it even if the odds
are not in your favour”
Elon Musk

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Top Gear
EXCELLENCE
“Success comes to
those who act”
Henry David Thoreau

CREDIT: TOP GEAR

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

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Go Go Luckey Entertainment joins Eclipse Television

The Jacksons: Next Generation

ACF Investment Bank is pleased to announce its recent transaction – Go Go Luckey Entertainment joining Eclipse Television.

ACF is a leading international specialist investment bank with offices in Los Angeles and London.  Our team has a strong track record of advising unscripted and scripted TV production businesses and an invaluable understanding of the business models, which helps ensure we can offer unrivaled advice and secure attractive transactions for our clients. We assist individuals and businesses wishing to maximize the value of people and intellectual property-based businesses.

We have advised on over 70 deals in the sector, including more than 36 TV production deals in the last 4 years with a total value of over $3 billion.

If you are considering selling your company, buying a company or raising capital, we have the expertise and track record to help you find the right solution. For further information or to arrange a meeting please contact: Melissa Castelyn on + 44 (0) 207 467 9600.


Go Go Luckey Entertainment was founded in 2003 and is known for its 2004 breakout hit Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County for MTV and Paranormal State for A&E. Some of their current television projects include: The Jackson’s: Next Generation for Lifetime, Fear: Buried Alive for A&E and The Unexplained for the History Channel.

The management team of Go Go Luckey Entertainment incldue: Julie Auerbach, Henry Capanna, Tina Gazzerro-Clapp and Dennis Principe.


Eclipse Television is a joint venture between two pre-eminent entertainment financier/producers, Kilburn Media and Demarest Films and is led by CEO Sergio Alfaro and SVP Erica Forstadt. This transaction represents the first phase of the group’s TV M&A strategy, intended to rapidly expand its footprint in the TV Production space.

Kilburn Media, founded by Mark Manuel and Ted O’Neal, is a rapidly growing diversified entertainment company with operating divisions in motion picture finance and production, television production and distribution, and live events finance and production.

“At Eclipse Television we have been looking for the right partnerships to help facilitate our continued expansion into the content creation business, and with Go Go Luckey we have found a perfect match to facilitate this continued growth.” Mark C. Manuel, CEO Kilburn Media

Demarest Media, founded by William D. Johnson, produces  and finances a wide range of film and television projects and invests in both early-stage and established media companies.

“Our aim has always been to grow Eclipse, organically and via acquisition, into a television powerhouse. I can think of no better addition to the business  Sergio and his team have built, than the proven hit-makers at Go Go Luckey.” William D. Johnson, CEO Demarest

Michael Lambert is the founder of Lambert Media Group and a partner in both Demarest Media and Kilburn Media.

“It is rare to find a team with the creativity and flexibility to compete in a multi-screen TV environment. We are delighted to welcome Julie, Tina, Henry and Dennis into our growing family of companies.” Michael Lambert, Lambert Media Group


Programming

The Real Orange County
The Real Orange County
Paranormal State
Paranormal State
Decoded
Decoded
Legend of the Superstition Mountains
Legend of the Superstition Mountains

“We are excited to be joining forces with Eclipse Television.  The combined expertise of all involved will greatly expand our ability to create and produce scripted, unscripted and live content across all platforms for the ever evolving audience. Go Go Luckey is thrilled to be embarking on this new adventure with the group. ACF have gone above and beyond in guiding us through a complex process and protecting our best interests every step of the way. We cannot thank the ACF team enough for all of their help.”

Julie Auerbach, Go Go Luckey Entertainment

“The combination of Eclipse and Go Go Luckey will create an exciting new team of TV professionals that will, in no time, be a market leading team.  With the backing of Kilburn Media and Demarest Films we shall see more exciting growth soon.”

Thomas Dey, Chief Executive Officer, ACF Investment Bank


5/5

What People Are Saying

“Since this was our first time working with an investment bank and raising capital for any of our businesses, I wasn’t sure what to expect. ACF has a great reputation and came highly recommended from several people that I hold in high regard. Overall, the experience working with Richard, Milos and Thomas was pure joy. They were the perfect partner for us, as they educated us as we were working through the process, they challenged us to think bigger about the scope and scale of our business, and they aggressively represented our business in the marketplace bringing multiple opportunities to us in a very challenging economic time. The partnership and guidance they provided was essential and they were extremely easy to work with. I only hope this is the first of many deals that we are able to execute together.”

Shawn Gee
Two One Five Entertainment

"ACF’s certainly got talent. Their team, led by the ever-tenacious Thomas Dey, delivered on their promises and introduced the perfect partners to achieve our goals."

Ian Rosenblatt OBE, Director
Syco Entertainment

"Given the complexities and importance of the rights at stake in our transaction, we interviewed several investment bank candidates at length before retaining ACF to guide our process.  We could not have chosen better!  ACF personnel were dedicated, creative, practical, responsive and deeply knowledgeable about the intricacies of the sales process. Over the months involved, Thomas, Richard, Tatiana and the rest of the ACF staff met with and worked skillfully and credibly with scores of potential buyers and with our own employees leading ultimately to a high value and very fair outcome benefitting both our company and the buyer. They have our deep respect and gratitude for a job so well accomplished"

Marty Glick, COO
The Saul Zaentz Company

“At this stage of 72’s development, there are great advantages and opportunities of joining forces with Fremantle. Their extensive international infrastructure and expertise will provide 72 Films with the platform to have our work seen across the world. We know and like their excellent team. And they offer us not only fantastic support but complete creative freedom so we can continue to work in the same way.

It’s been a real pleasure working with Thomas Dey and the whole team at ACF. They are brilliant at what they do. And alongside Matisse it’s been an incredible team behind this deal.”

Mark Raphael, David Glover, Founders and Chief Executive Officers
72 Films

“This exciting new deal between Broke and Bones and Netflix marks an exciting period of content creation, demonstrating the strong relationship between market leading creatives and the streaming platforms. ACF brokered the deal using our strong track record, experience and access in the UK and USA scripted markets. Premium content continues to lead the market with strong deals that ACF have closed including advising Mammoth Screen on sale to ITV, Neal Street to All3Media, Left Bank Pictures to Sony, Thinkfactory to ITV, Paddington Bear to Studio Canal, New Pictures to All3Media, and Carnival Pictures to NBC Universal.”

Thomas Dey, CEO
ACF Investment Bank

"It has been an incredible journey for Delbert and I to get to the stage where we can build out our adventure shows under our own Studio. We stand on the shoulders of many giants, the ACF team have been incredible guides through the process - at its heart this is about building the ultimate home of adventure programming worldwide."

Bear Grylls & Delbert Shoopman
The Natural Studios

"Critical Content has been a leading player in the unscripted space for the last decade, led by a first class team. Media continues to dominate the deal landscape, with content leading the pack. What a great start to 2022! Congratulations to the whole team."

Thomas Dey, CEO
ACF Investment Bank

"Boardwalk Pictures are one of the preeminent producers of premium content and this partnership with Shamrock secures Boardwalks positioning as a leading player in this market. Shamrock’s deep understanding and experience in the content space makes them great partners for Andrew and the team at Boardwalk. I look forward to seeing the growth and future success of this partnership."

RIchard Gray, Managing Director
ACF Investment Bank