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New Owner for MarketCast
In the US, private investment firm RLJ Equity Partners has acquired entertainment sector researcher and analyst MarketCast, for an undisclosed sum.
 MarketCast is headquartered in LA with offices in New York, Boston and London, and provides qual and quant research services across the entertainment spectrum, include ad and trailer testing, concept and positioning studies, exit polls and recruited audience screenings, and tracking studies. Longstanding clients include 'all of the major motion picture studios and production companies, as well as a growing number of broadcast, cable, and OTT programmers and networks.'
RLJ partnered with GE Asset Management to buy the research firm from its previous owner, LA-based Shamrock Capital Advisors, who bought the company from Reed Business Information (RBI) less than two and a half years ago. MarketCast was established in the mid-1980s and spent a dozen years as part of RBI, itself a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier Group plc.
Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Chairman of RLJ Equity Partners, said the move was 'an opportunity to invest alongside an experienced team in the growing US entertainment industry', adding 'With its comprehensive audience engagement expertise and full-scale data analytics, MarketCast is uniquely qualified to provide a valuable service to motion picture studios to help grow their audience attendance and enjoyment, both domestic and foreign.'
According to MarketCast CEO Henry Shapiro, 'This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for MarketCast. RLJ Equity Partners, with its vast global network and long-standing experience in the entertainment business, is the perfect partner for us as we continue to invest in new products and services, and in expanding our footprint into new and emerging forms of entertainment distribution and marketing.'
Madison Capital Funding, RLJ Credit Management, LLC, and Brookside Mezzanine also participated in the transaction.
The firm is online at www.mcast.com .
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