Propagate has acquired Electus, initially founded by Ben Silverman, along with taking a majority share in the talent management and production firm Artists First.<\/p>\n
The deal comprises Electus\u2019s content, international sales division and library, along with Artists First\u2019s talent roster.<\/p>\n
Electus was founded by Silverman with the backing of IAC in 2009. He left Electus in 2016 to found Propagate with Co-CEO Howard T. Owens. Artists First, led by Peter Principato, was founded in 2001. The company produces the hit ABC comedy black-ish<\/em> and Freeform spin-off Grown-ish<\/em>, as well as TBS\u2019s The Last O.G.<\/em> and ABC\u2019s The Gong Show<\/em>.<\/p>\n The deal with IAC expands Propagate’s full-service global studio. The acquisitions were financed through an investment secured earlier this year from global merchant bank The Raine Group to accelerate Propagate\u2019s global growth through new ventures and targeted acquisitions. A+E Networks, an early investor, also owns a stake in Propagate.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Propagate, we are focused on building premium content with the best creative voices from around the world, and being able to support the growth of Electus and all of its partnerships is incredibly exciting to us,\u201d said Silverman and Owens, Propagate’s co-CEOs. \u201cWe have had the privilege of working closely with Peter Principato and his team of world-class executives and managers at Artists First and we are looking forward to deeper collaboration as we build an enterprise for the next phase of content creation and distribution. Barry Diller is an incredible entrepreneur who has consistently supported us throughout our careers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are extremely excited to be reunited with Ben and to be part of what he and Howard are building at Propagate,\u201d said Electus\u2019s Chris Grant and Drew Buckley. \u201cThis new platform will provide the scale and financing necessary to be a leader in today\u2019s global content marketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOn behalf of the Artists First Partners, we are thrilled to team back up with Ben and join forces with Howard and the Propagate team,\u201d said Artists First CEO Peter Principato. \u201cOur management and production capabilities seamlessly integrate within the structure of Propagate, representing a fantastic opportunity for our company, our clients and the industry as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n IAC Chairman and Senior Executive Barry Diller said, \u201cIt\u2019s nice to see that Ben Silverman, who created Electus for IAC in 2009, has now purchased the company from us. We wish him the best for its future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Propagate has acquired Electus, initially founded by Ben Silverman, along with taking a majority share in the talent management and production firm Artists First.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":9082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[1955,439,627],"class_list":["post-9081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-artists-first","tag-electus","tag-propagate"],"yoast_head":"\n