Chernin’s North Road back on M&A path with deal for ‘Summer Of Soul’ firm Two One Five

The Roots (Source: CC, Michael Seeley)

Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company has taken a “significant stake” in Two One Five Entertainment, the US prodco cofounded by The Roots duo Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson and Tarik ‘Black Thought’ Trotter.

Two One Five has been behind documentaries, animated series, digital programming and podcasts, with output ranging from Descendant – produced with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground – to Sam Pollard’s The League, Summer Of Soul and Disney Junior’s animated shorts show, Rise Up, Sing Out.

David Nevins

The deal will see The North Road financing “film, television and other creative projects to scale the company and solidify it as the leading voice at the intersection of culture, music and race.”

David Nevins, the former Showtime chief who joined The North Road as CEO earlier this summer, said the injection would also help Two One Five to achieve “success in scripted film, television and beyond.”

Questlove added: “The capital they are committing provides us the flexibility to independently fund creative ideas, grow our executive team and truly scale the business.”

Chernin launched North Road last year after picking up the US assets of Red Arrow Studios and is backed by Providence Equity Partners and Apollo, which together provided access to $800m to fuel further acquisitions. It also snagged a $150m investment from The Qatar Investment Authority in February.

It has since been on a buying spree, most recently acquiring Turkish prodco Karga Seven Pictures, and now claims to have over 85 active productions across the group.

The company has also been tweaking its management team, with EVP of film & TV Bill McGoldrick recently exiting, while former Showtime scripted chief Amy Israel was named president of TV earlier this month.

ACF Investment Bank advised Two One Five on the deal.