The Raine Group Continues Expansion of Entertainment, Digital Media and Sports Platform

NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Raine Group, the global merchant bank focused exclusively on entertainment, digital media and sports, announced today the closing of its flagship private equity fund.  With approximately $475 million in assets under management, Raine has completed three principal investments, including multimedia powerhouse Vice, browser-based games giant Jagex, and celebrity–curated ecommerce platform OpenSky.

"We are pleased to have successfully completed our fundraising process," said Jeff Sine, one of Raine's two founders.  "This is a significant milestone for Raine and we are excited about the prospects for our investments to date and our ability to continue to bring together strong management teams with our limited partners to execute on the global opportunities we see in our focus areas."

Raine also announced that veteran media banker Glenn H. Schiffman joined the firm as a Partner.  Schiffman has more than 20 years of investment banking experience and most recently served as head of investment banking in the Americas for Nomura Holdings, and before that head of investment banking Asia-Pacific.  Prior to joining Nomura, Schiffman spent 17 years at Lehman Brothers focused on media and entertainment for most of his career, serving as global head of the media group and later as head of investment banking Asia-Pacific.

"Our team, which now numbers 35 globally, is stronger than ever and Glenn is a wonderful addition," said Raine co-founder Joe Ravitch.  "We have known Glenn for many years and he is one of the most thoughtful, respected and well-connected media bankers in the business.  His leadership and client impact will be instrumental in helping our team as we both continue to build our advisory business and identify investment opportunities for our fund."

"Jeff, Joe and I have worked together on many media deals over the years.  In Raine, they brought together an amazing network of contacts from across the industry and have done an exceptional job executing their vision. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to such a unique platform," said Schiffman.

Raine also announced that Sherri A. Williams was named Managing Director for Private Placements and Capital Markets.  Williams joins Raine from Montgomery & Co. where she was instrumental in building the firm's private placement business.

Raine also announced three new additions to its advisory board - Miky Lee, Chairman of CJ Group, Korea's largest media and entertainment company, Steven Newhouse, Chairman of Advance.net, the internet strategy arm of Condé Nast's Advance Publication division, and Theo Kyriakou, CEO of Antenna Group, the leading broadcasting firm in Greece.  Previously announced advisory board members draw from the sports and technology industries and include Tom Freston, former President and CEO of Viacom, Peter Chernin, former chief operating officer of News Corp, and Masayoshi Son, founder of Softbank.

About The Raine Group

The Raine Group is a global merchant bank focused exclusively on entertainment, digital media and sports. Founded in 2009 by Joseph Ravitch and Jeffrey Sine, in partnership with WME Entertainment, Raine has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Palo Alto and Beijing. With a global reach, Raine focuses on growth equity investments where its deep industry experience and unique network of strategic relationships, limited partners and advisory board members can create value for portfolio companies.

SOURCE The Raine Group