Happy Friday. Here’s what we’ve got today…

• A look at Content Partners’ new entertainment finance platform

• Plus, Intel considers strategic alternatives

Hollywood financing:

Los Angeles investment firm Content Partners is launching Content Partners Capital (CPC) to provide various private capital solutions for entertainment and intellectual property assets.

Since its founding in 2006, Content Partners has focused on acquiring backend rights from talent and production companies — paying an upfront amount in exchange for a share in the future profits of an entertainment asset. The firm has amassed a portfolio of over 500 films and 3,000 hours of television content, including stakes in high-profile properties such as the CSI franchise, Black Hawk Down, and Black Swan.

Backend deals have become more contentious in recent years as a result of the streaming-led structural shift in the entertainment industry.

Accusations of 'Hollywood accounting,' in which a studio obscures a media asset's true profitability to avoid paying a portion of profit-sharing distributions, have always been a potential pitfall.

Now, however, with the launch of studio-owned streaming services, there's even less transparency. Studios have little motivation to maximize value when selling a production to their own platform, and if they also know that their profit participation liabilities will increase the greater the sale value, they may even be incentivized to sell an asset for as little as possible.

Content Partners' new unit could be partially motivated by a desire to diversify away from backend deals, or it could just be an opportunistic move into fast-growing private credit. Either way, the firm will enter the market with uniquely strong industry expertise and a deep network.

CPC's strategy will target IP-heavy business models across film, television, and music, offering a range of tailored credit structures depending on specific needs. This type of flexible financing product may be especially attractive to independent producers, distributors, and IP owners, who can often be shut out from more traditional financing sources.

Alphonse Lordo, previously Managing Director and sector head for entertainment at Truist Securities, has been hired to lead the new unit.

“The team has deep industry relationships and expertise in the film, TV, and music sectors, and because of this can originate proprietary deal flow," said Lordo in an interview with Variety. "From a production standpoint, we believe there is a fundamental lack of capital for companies in the entertainment sectors and limited competition for private credit on deal sizes under $100 million. We aim to fill that void and provide flexible credit structures in various forms, such as 1st lien, 2nd lien, mezzanine, and structured financings.”

CPC has already completed its first deal, providing a debt financing package to Media Capital Technologies in support of its film slate transaction with Lionsgate.

• Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is exploring strategic options, including potentially splitting its chip design and manufacturing businesses, and has hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to advise ahead of a September board presentation, per Bloomberg.

• ONEOK (NYSE: OKE) agreed to acquire Global Infrastructure Partners' 43 percent stake in EnLink Midstream (NYSE: ENLC), a midstream energy services provider, and all of Medallion Midstream, a crude gathering and transportation provider in the Permian Basin, for $5.9 billion.

• Onex Corporation acquired Farsound Aviation, a supplier of parts for aircraft engine maintenance and repairs, from AGIC Capital.

• Cinven offered between €500 million and €600 million for Minsait Payments, the payment unit of Spanish tech and defense company Indra.

• Mundipharma International has failed for the second time this year to find a buyer for its China unit, which it aimed to sell for over $1 billion.

• Brookfield Asset Management is in talks with sovereign wealth funds, including Abu Dhabi's ADQ and Singapore's GIC, to join its potential €8 billion take-private bid for Spanish blood-plasma company Grifols SA.

• A.P. Moller agreed to acquire Concentric, a Swedish maker of engine products, for around $840 million.

• BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) has launched an auction for German startup SellerX, an L Catterton-backed Amazon aggregator that had raised over $750 million in debt and equity; Blackrock moved SellerX’s $400 million loan to non-accrual status earlier this month.

• Arkview Capital sold a majority stake in Icon Parking, New York City's largest parking operator, to Hudson Valley Parking Trust, with additional financing provided by Prudential Private Capital.

• Getinge agreed to acquire Paragonix Technologies, a maker of organ preservation and transport devices, for up to $477 million, including $253 million up-front.

• BenefitHub, a portfolio company of Inverness Graham, acquired Abenity, a provider of private perks programs for employers, alumni groups, and associations.

• Archimed acquired Irrimax Corporation, a developer and marketer of antimicrobial wound irrigation solutions.

• Wilshire Advisors acquired XTP Implementation Services, a provider of cost transparency analytics and optimization services for institutional investors.

• VION Biosciences acquired Ansh Labs, a Houston-based developer of immunoassay kits and reagents for research and clinical diagnostics.

• DraftKings (Nasdaq: DKNG) agreed to acquire Simplebet, a provider of in-game sports microbetting technology.

• Tata Group has shelved plans for an IPO of its content distribution platform Tata Play after buying out minority investors, including Singapore's Temasek and Tata Opportunities Fund.

• BenefitHub, backed by Inverness Graham, acquired Abenity, a provider of private perks programs.

• Falfurrias Management Partners invested in MOXFIVE, a cybersecurity company providing incident response and risk reduction services.

• Uber (NYSE: UBER) invested in Wayve, a UK-based autonomous driving startup developing self-learning AI for vehicles, as an extension of Wayve's $1.05 billion Series C funding round.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• OpenAI is in talks to raise new funding from Thrive Capital and Microsoft at a valuation of over $100 billion.

• Magic, an AI coding automation startup, raised $320 million in new funding from Alphabet's CapitalG and Sequoia.

• Codeium, an AI-powered code acceleration platform, raised $150 million in Series C funding led by General Catalyst, with participation from Kleiner Perkins and Greenoaks.

• Miris, a spatial computing startup, raised $26 million in seed funding led by IAG Capital Partners.

• AGRIM, an Indian on-demand platform for B2B agricultural inputs, raised $17.3 million in Series B funding led by Asia Impact, with participation from Kalaari Capital, Omnivore, India Quotient, and Accion Venture Lab.

• Pylon, a B2B customer support platform, raised $17 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from General Catalyst and Y Combinator.

• Bland AI, an enterprise phone call AI automation startup, raised $16 million in Series A funding led by Scale Venture Partners, with participation from Y Combinator.

• Uniqkey, a Denmark-based access management startup, raised €5.35 million in new funding led by BackingMinds.

• Inventive AI, an AI-driven platform for RFP and sales questionnaire workflows, raised $4 million in seed funding led by Sierra Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, SOMA Capital, and General Catalyst.

Fintech

• Bridge, a payments infrastructure startup, raised $58 million in Series B funding co-led by Sequoia Capital and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Index Ventures and Haun Ventures.

• Quai Network, a Layer-1 crypto network for and compute economies, raised $5 million in strategic funding from Cogitent Ventures, MH Ventures, TPC Ventures, Giga Chad Ventures, and DexCheck Ventures.

Consumer & Media

• Turntable Labs, developer of social music platform Hangout, raised $8.2 million in seed funding led by Founders Fund, with participation from Elizabeth Street Ventures, 468 Capital, and f7 Ventures.

• Vybe, an AI-powered social media app for photo editing and sharing, raised $4.75 million in seed funding led by Stellation Capital, with participation from Scribble Ventures, Coalition Operators, Neo, and Blueprint FTC.

Healthcare

• Thryve, a B2B health data integration and analytics company, raised €4 million in Series A funding led by Capricorn Partners, with participation from IBB ventures, CRB Health Tech, and German Carma Fund.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• Last Energy, a developer of micro-modular nuclear power plants, raised $40 million in Series B funding led by Gigafund, with participation from Autodesk Foundation.

• Swiss-Mile, a spin-off from ETH Zurich developing wheel-legged robots for logistics, raised $22 million in new funding co-led by Bezos Expeditions and HongShan, with participation from Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Armada Investment, and Linear Capital.

• Veritas Capital is targeting $13 billion for its ninth flagship buyout fund.

• Abry Partners and Coller Capital formed a $1.6 billion GP-led credit continuation fund.

• Blue Cloud Ventures is raising $300 million for its fifth co-invest fund focused on cloud software.

Interested in partnering with Transacted? If you’re a financial services firm looking to connect with an engaged audience, please reach out.

Got a tip or an idea for a story? Email [email protected], or Tweet/DM @transactedInc