IDG Capital Partners, a corporate venturing unit of International Data Group, has helped movie content company Legendary Entertainment raise $128m in equity.
The deal was the largest round raised by a content company since 2005, according to news provider VentureWire. VentureWire added Legendary has raised five rounds at more than $277m, which is the most ever raised by a content company, according to its sister data provider Dow Jones VentureSource.
Other backers of the round on April 4 were Legendary Entertainment’s existing investors venture firm Accel Partners and its co-founder Jim Breyer as well as his personal investment Breyer Capital as well as Gordy Crawford.
Also investing in the round were new investors Morgan Stanley Investment Management, part of the US-based bank, Peter Thiel’s investment firm Thiel Capital, and Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt’s investment firm Tomorrow Ventures. Goldman Sachs was placement agent for Legendary.
The company raised the funds alongside a $150m debt financing, structured and arranged by co-leads JPMorgan, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Canada and UBS. Goldman Sachs Lending Partners also participated in the bank financing.
Legendary said the funds would be used to retire and refinance debt as well as to adding investment and working capital. Blockbusters the company has released alongside partner Warner Bros include the Dark Knight (Batmobile pictured).