Otter Media, the joint venture formed by telecommunications firm AT&T and digital media company The Chernin Group, agreed on Monday to acquire a majority stake in online media provider Fullscreen Media.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Re/code has stated the acquisition valued Fullscreen at between $200m and $300m.
Founded in 2011, Fullscreen sources online video content from than 50,000 creators, whose work is seen by a reported 450 million subscribers on YouTube.
Chernin led Fullscreen’s $30m series A round in June last year, which also included Qualcomm Ventures, which acts as wireless technology producer Qualcomm’s corporate venturing unit, and marketing agency WPP. WPP will retain a stake in Fullscreen as a strategic investor.
“This is a huge win for Fullscreen and our creators,” said Fullscreen CEO George Strompolos, who will continue his role post-acquisition.
“Peter Chernin, Jesse Jacobs and the entire team at The Chernin Group have supported our vision since day one. With AT&T as a strategic investor in Otter Media, we are well positioned to redefine youth media in today’s digital-first world. We could not ask for a better opportunity.”
Otter Media was formed by AT&T and The Chernin Group in April to fund and acquire online video services, and has $500m of cash with which to invest. In addition to buying Fullscreen, it has also funded Japanese and Korean video site Crunchyroll and arts and crafts instruction site Creativebug.