SpringHill Co., led by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, is in early discussions with a range of potential investors to sell a piece of the media and entertainment firm that would value it at upwards of $750 million, PvNew /confirm/ied.
The inbound interest in SpringHill has ranged across industries. Parties that have engaged with SpringHill on a potential deal have included Nike, as well as streaming-video providers and tech companies, according to a source familiar with the talks.
News that SpringHill was in talks including with Nike about a potential sale was first reported by The Information. However, SpringHill is not looking to sell itself outright. Rather, the company is exploring selling minority or majority equity stakes, sources tell PvNew.
A rep for SpringHill declined to comment. Nike did not respond to a request for comment.
The 120-employee SpringHill’s projects include “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” starring James alongside a crew of Looney Tunes favorites, which Warner Bros. is releasing July 16 on HBO Max and in theaters.
The company also is currently in production on “House Party” for New Line, as well as the Adam Sandler-led “Hustle” for Netflix. And on Monday, ViacomCBS’s Nickelodeon and Awesomeness Films announced an original live-action movie “Fantasy Football,” executive produced by SpringHill Co. in partnership with Genius Entertainment, about a 15-year-old girl who discovers she can control her professional football player dad’s prowess on the field through her video game; production is set to begin in early 2022.
NBA superstar James and Carter, who is his longtime business partner, raised $100 million for SpringHill Co. last year. Investors include Guggenheim Partners; Sister, the production company founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone; the University of California’s UC Investments; and Jason Stein’s SC.Holdings. SpringHill Co. consolidated the trio of James and Maverick’s companies — SpringHill Entertainment, Uninterrupted and the Robot Co. marketing agency — into a single entity.
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In 2015, James inked a “lifetime” contract with Nike reported to be worth $1 billion. Nike collaborated with Uninterrupted on consumer products, including the Air Force 1 line of sneakers.
SpringHill’s executive team includes chief content officer Jamal Henderson, COO Devin Johnson, CFO Louisa Chen, chief marketing officer Paul Rivera, chief creative officer Ricardo Viramontes, general counsel and GM Jennifer Lewis, chief people and culture officer Camille Booth and EVP of strategy and operations Matthew Trunzo.
The SpringHill Co. is represented by WME and Ziffren Brittenham.
