Los Angeles, CA — Crafty Apes LLC ("Crafty Apes" or the "Company") has received an investment from Gemspring Capital ("Gemspring"). Legacy FocalPoint Securities, LLC, now B. Riley Securities ("B. Riley"), served as the exclusive financial advisor to the Company. Crafty Apes provides best-in-class visual effects and production services to the rapidly growing market for film, episodic and commercial video production. Crafty Apes' services range from high quality 2D and 3D compositing to digital cosmetics and computer-generated imagery. Founded in 2011, Crafty Apes' recent critically acclaimed credits include La La Land, Stranger Things, Hidden Figures, The Orville and Ant-Man and the Wasp.
"We could not be more impressed by [B. Riley's] understanding of the industry and our business as well as their tenacity in driving a successful result. [B. Riley] was a trusted advisor throughout the entire process, helping us identify the best partner and communicate the key value drivers of the business," said founders Chris LeDoux, Jason Sanford and Tim LeDoux. The team also added, "We are excited to partner with Gemspring during the next phase of growth for Crafty Apes. Gemspring's understanding of our industry, resources, relationships and experience partnering with growing companies will be invaluable as we expand our geographic presence, invest in our team and continue delivering world class post-production services for our customers."
Geoff Broglio, Principal at Gemspring, said, "We are in an unprecedented era of content proliferation, and Crafty Apes is uniquely positioned to continue growing with marquee studios and streaming providers. We are thrilled to partner with Tim, Jason, Chris, Robin and Mark and the other artists at Crafty Apes, who we believe are some of the best storytellers in the industry. We were impressed with [B. Riley's] industry expertise and leadership throughout the process, and we look forward to continuing to work with Muizz and the team on opportunities in the media and entertainment space."
Muizz Kheraj, Senior Managing Director with B. Riley's Technology, Media and Entertainment practice, said, "We are excited to announce this partnership as it represents another successful transaction in our Tech-Enabled Business Services and Media verticals. In the past 12 months, this is our third transaction in the post-production sector of the media and entertainment space, and we continue to see strong M&A interest in companies serving the massive growth in content. The Crafty Apes team has built an excellent business with tremendous opportunities for sustained growth. Gemspring distinguished themselves early on and throughout the process as a compelling partner to help the Company realize these growth opportunities."
About Crafty Apes
Crafty Apes is a full-service visual effects company with studios in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York. Founded by Chris LeDoux, Jason Sanford and Tim LeDoux, Crafty Apes has a talented roster of creative and production supervisors that offer a full suite of VFX services, including set supervision, VFX consultation, 2D and 3D compositing, digital cosmetics and computer-generated imagery. Crafty Apes' work can be seen on such titles as La La Land, If Beale Street Could Talk, Hidden Figures, Doctor Strange, Captain America: Civil War, Deadpool 2 and Ant-Man and the Wasp. For more information, visit www.craftyapes.com.
About Gemspring Capital
Gemspring Capital, a Westport, Connecticut-based private equity firm with $355 million of capital under management, provides equity capital to growing lower middle market companies headquartered in the United States and Canada. Gemspring partners with talented management teams and takes a partnership approach to helping drive revenue growth and value creation. Target companies have up to $350 million in revenue and are in the media, business services, industrial services, software or specialty manufacturing sectors. For more information, visit www.gemspring.com.
B. Riley Securities is a leading investment bank that provides a full suite of investment banking, corporate finance, advisory, research, and sales and trading services. Investment banking services include initial, secondary, and follow-on offerings, institutional private placements, merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory, SPACs, corporate restructuring, and recapitalization. The firm is nationally recognized and highly ranked for its proprietary small-cap equity research. B. Riley Securities is a wholly owned subsidiary of B. Riley Financial. For more information, visit brileysecurities.com.
Please contact Muizz Kheraj at (310) 405-7000 with any questions about this transaction.