London, Sunderland and Los Angeles-based producer Fulwell 73 has confirmed it is to fully merge with Los Angeles and New York-based entertainment company SpringHill Company, founded by basketball star LeBron James and Maverick Carter.
The combined companies’ initial business focus will be in television and film, digital content through an owned-network business, live events and brand strategy through The SpringHill Company’s New York-based brand consultancy firm Robot.
It is a full merger of equals. The merged companies will operate under a new name, which has yet to be announced. Fulwell 73 co-founder Leo Pearlman and SpringHill’s Carter will be co-CEOs, with all existing partners in the respective companies staying on, including James, who will continue to be involved in a project-based capacity.
The merger is expected to close in the final quarter of 2024. The combined companies will be backed by a group of partners including Fenway Sports Group, RedBird Capital Partners, UC Investments, Nike, Epic Games, Main Street Advisors and Eldridge Industries. As part of the transaction, existing shareholders will invest $40m of primary capital in the companies’ growth initiatives.
Fulwell 73 is behind the Crown Works Studio build in Sunderland, which is set to be the one of Europe’s largest film and TV studios. Credits include producing The Grammys broadcast for CBS, Hulu series The Kardashians and Friends: The Reunion for HBO’s Max, plus documentaries Ed Sheeran: Sum Of It All for Disney+ and Sunderland ‘Til I Die for Netflix. Carpool Karaoke and the finale of BBC sitcom Gavin And Stacey are also on its slate.
Fulwell 73 was set up by Ben Winston, Pearlman, Ben Turner and Gabe Turner in 2005. Actor and presenter James Corden joined the company as a fifth full partner in March 2017.
The SpringHill Company was founded by James and Carter in 2020, covering film, TV, YouTube shows, merchandise and brand campaigns. Credits include Space Jam: A New Legacy, Hustle and the Netflix Top Boy reboot.
Pearlman told Screen talks between the two companies have been on-going for the past 10-12 months. “It’s about building something that enables us to take advantage of the opportunities the industry now allows. While there are complimentary pieces of the two companies coming together, there are also significant upsides the two companies bring that the other currently does not have. There are areas we were looking at that we would have had to acquire, that we now get to plug into.”
Pearlman said “the broad spectrum of unscripted genres” such as entertainment, live, awards shows and documentary is where the merged companies’ focus naturally aligns, however scripted will play “a significant piece in our plans”.
Offices will remain in London and Sunderland, as well as Los Angeles and New York, with the UK base “really crucial”.
“You think about the opportunities that gives you, whether it’s through the entry to Europe, which clearly through the UK is significant. Whether you think about the tax incentives, whether you think about the lower cost base from a production perspective, whether you think about the fact we have post-production based out of the UK, there are significant reasons why the UK is essential to this whole conversation,” said Pearlman.
“We all became slightly greedy and slightly lazy of the back of the explosion of the streamers, and we did the exact same thing,” he continued. “There is a realignment that is now required – one that needs to think more about that long tail, that IP [intellectual property] creation. That’s what we’re looking to fix. We see this merger as being an accelerated fix for that problem.”
“At The SpringHill Company, we’ve always given athletes, artists and brands a platform to tell meaningful and diverse stories in all forms and formats, from digital-native shows and IRL [in real life] experiences to streamed series and theatrically released movies,” added Carter, CEO of The SpringHill Company.
“We found like-minded partners in Fulwell 73, partners who understand this business and the critical importance of building opportunities for talent across the media and entertainment landscape. Like everyone, we see the ways audience behaviour is shifting and the demands on storytellers are evolving. We are excited for those changes and feel ready to adapt alongside the Fulwell 73 team.”