Sonar Entertainment Raises $121 Million in Production Financing
11 December 2018 - 5:00PM
Business Wire
New Facility Doubles Capital Available to
Partner with Talent in the Development of Premium Content
Sonar Entertainment (“Sonar” or the “Company”) today announced
that it has secured a new production finance facility of $121
million led by MidCap Financial. Sonar is the leading independent
television studio with a full suite of capabilities to develop,
produce, finance, and distribute premium television content on a
worldwide basis.
“Sonar has continued to build its position as the leading
independent TV studio through new series successes and expansion
into kids & family and non-scripted programming,” said Tom
Lesinski, CEO, Sonar Entertainment. “Having significant and
flexible production financing is core to our ability to meet the
needs of our talented partners and create even more opportunities
in bringing premium programming to the market. This is particularly
important as networks and digital platforms continue to focus on
high-end original programming as the most significant driver of
ratings, subscriber growth, and audience retention.”
“The acceleration of growth at Sonar over the last two years has
been substantial and is testament to its capacity to deliver
significant investment in the development and packaging of content,
without relying on third parties, which leads to more control of
creative and higher frequency of series orders,” said Gabriel de
Alba, Chairman, Sonar Entertainment and Managing Director and
Partner, The Catalyst Capital Group Inc. “We are very excited about
the future, marked by a production slate that continues to build
with various series reordered, new series slated to premiere and
new series greenlit and pilots ordered.”
In addition to 17 series on-air and in production, Sonar
currently has an additional 21 projects set up at premier networks,
and a robust pipeline of more than 40 shows and a library
consisting of more than 1,000 titles.
About Sonar
Entertainment
Sonar Entertainment is a leading independent entertainment
studio that develops, produces, finances and distributes content
for global audiences. Our financial strength and independence
provides us with the freedom to fund development and productions on
a global scale and partner with the most innovative storytellers in
the industry. Sonar Entertainment premium series include Mr.
Mercedes, written by David E. Kelley, based on the novel by
Stephen King, with AT&T Audience Network; The Son,
starring Pierce Brosnan for AMC; Das Boot, an eight-part
series inspired by the acclaimed movie, for Sky; scripted drama
series The Hunt and documentary series Lorena, both
produced with Jordan Peele for Amazon; scripted sci-fi comedy
series Weird City, produced with Jordan Peele for YouTube Premium;
and an A.I. documentary series produced with Robert Downey Jr. for
YouTube Premium. Sonar Entertainment also distributes
internationally, outside the UK, Taboo, for FX and BBC One,
starring Tom Hardy and executive produced by Ridley Scott. Factual
and lifestyle series include Texas Metal for Discovery
and Food's Greatest Hits for Scripps. Sonar Kids and
Family series include Counterfeit Cat, airing on Disney XD in
the US, Teletoon in Canada, on Hulu and in over 200 countries
worldwide; and Go Away, Unicorn! for Disney. In addition,
Sonar Entertainment distributes over 1,000 award-winning library
titles comprising over 3,000 broadcast hours.
About MidCap Financial
MidCap Financial is a middle market-focused, specialty finance
firm that provides senior debt solutions to companies across all
industries. We provide a broad array of products intended to
finance growth and manage working capital. The company is
headquartered in Bethesda, MD, with offices in Chicago and Los
Angeles. For more information, visit www.midcapfinancial.com.
MidCap Financial refers to MidCap FinCo Designated Activity
Company, a private limited company domiciled in Ireland, and its
subsidiaries, including MidCap Financial Services, LLC. MidCap
Financial Services, LLC employs all personnel and provides
sourcing, due diligence and portfolio management services to MidCap
FinCo Designated Activity Company pursuant to a services agreement.
MidCap Financial is managed by Apollo Capital Management, L.P., a
subsidiary of Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO), pursuant to an
investment management agreement.
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Alan WinnikoffSayles & Winnikoff
Communications212-725-5200
x111alan@sayleswinnikoff.com
Alan ZapakinSVP, Marketing & PublicitySonar
Entertainment:Tel:
424-208-7425AZapakin@sonarent.com