Red Arrow invests in Band of Outsiders

Germany-based Red Arrow Entertainment Group has acquired a minority stake in Band of Outsiders (BOO), a US prodco that focuses on both broadcast and digital entertainment.

This new investment hands the ProSiebenSat.1-owned Red Arrow 20% of LA-based BOO, and means Red Arrow International will sell its shows overseas. BOO will sit alongside Ripple Entertainment, another Californian digital media prodco that Red Arrow has bought into.

Red Arrow’s portfolio comprises 18 prodcos in seven territories, plus joint ventures and minority ownerships.

BOO creates premium content with companies including female millennials-skewed Galore Media and TV and film crowdfunding platform Seed&Spark, and is currently working on a show about the big pharma industry, Dope Nation, and a factual series about the immigration crisis explored through the rehabilitation of a hate-based American extremist.

Former Lionsgate president of music Jay Faires created BOO. He also created investment vehicle JFE, and founded Mammoth Records and BNY Records, which he sold to The Walt Disney Company and Lionsgate, respectively.

Red Arrow chairman and CEO Jan Frouman said he was “a pure entrepreneur”.

“Anyone who spends 30 minutes with the guy will see that,” added Frouman. “He’s got great things brewing in linear, digital and branded. We like the idea of joining forces with him at the earliest stage. We think this can be a very cool partnership.”

“It’s been fun getting to know Jan and his Red Arrow and ProSiebenSat.1 executive team,” said Faires, BOO’s CEO. “It’s probably the deepest diligence we’ve ever done on a company and the more we learn, the more we like them. Creative always leads with them, but it’s backed up by strong processes and a team that adds value and has a deeply entrepreneurial spirit.

“This partnership will undoubtedly strengthen Band of Outsiders’ slate of projects and I’m very excited to be partnering with Red Arrow as they continue to grow in North America.”

In the US, Red Arrow has majority stakes in Off Their Rockers firm Kinetic Content and Bosch producer Fabrik Entertainment among others in the US.

“Our deal with Band of Outsiders is part of an ongoing strategy to thoughtfully and deliberately expand our presence in the US content market,” said Frouman.