MESA is an investment bank focused on digital and traditional media and entertainment transactions

Just Announced
Read about the launch of MESA+ on The Next Web, Variety, and TechCrunch

About

SERVICES

With expertise across business models and longstanding relationships with traditional and creative financing sources as well as M&A partners, MESA offers full-service investment banking capabilities and strategic advisory services to an international roster of clients.

Our services include:
-  Private Placements: Equity & Debt
-  Mergers & Acquisitions
-  Strategic Advisory/Consulting
-  Structured Finance

SECTORS

We cover the full spectrum of traditional and digital media and its affiliated subsectors.  Our team is able to leverage our deep understanding of the complex industry landscape to provide our clients with a comprehensive operational and valuation perspective.

RELATIONSHIPS

With the breadth of our services, international reach, clear sector focus and deep experience, MESA has fostered longstanding relationships with financial investors of all stages and the full range of strategic partners.

KEY STATS

Transactions Completed: 59 / $3.4 Bn
Managing Partners & Directors: 8
Offices:
-  New York (HQ)
-  San Francisco
-  Los Angeles
-  Advisors in Shanghai

Recent Transactions

Band Digital

Close Band Digital MESA acted as exclusive financial advisor to Band Digital in its merger with Sparkline Digital.

For further information regarding this transaction, please contact Mark Wasserberger.

YP Holdings

Close YP Holdings MESA acted as exclusive financial advisor to YP Holdings in its sale of Keen to Alpine Investors.

For further information regarding this transaction, please contact Robert Ennis.

Wood Creek Capital Management

Close Wood Creek Capital Management MESA acted as exclusive financial advisor to Wood Creek Capital Management in its acquisition of Concord Music Group.

For further information regarding this transaction, please contact Jerome Levy.

New York Times, "Wood Creek Adds to Music Holdings, Acquiring Concord"

Billboard, "Concord Music Group to Be Sold to Wood Creek Capital Management"

Variety, "Concord Music Group Sold to Wood Creek Capital"

ShareThis

Close ShareThis MESA acted as financial advisor to ShareThis in its securing of a $23M Series C capital raise led by T-Venture, the venture capital company of Deutsche Telekom.

For further information regarding this transaction, please contact Daniel Gossels.

ShareThis, "ShareThis Secures $23 Million in Funding to Accelerate Global and Cross-Platform Growth"

TechCrunch, "ShareThis Aims for Mobile, with $23M Series C Led by T-Venture, Acquisition of Social App Platform, Socialize"

Adweek, "ShareThis Lands Acquisition, $23 Million Funding Round to Boost Mobile Business"

Rhapsody

Close Rhapsody MESA acted as exclusive financial advisor to Rhapsody in its securing of an equity investment.

For further information regarding this transaction, please contact Brian Richards.

Quickflix

Close Quickflix MESA acted as exclusive financial advisor to Quickflix in its agreement with US-based entertainment and media investors BluePrint Partners to secure funding through a convertible loan and bond agreement.

For further information regarding this transaction, please contact Daniel Gossels.

Cutting Edge Wood Creek Varese

Close Cutting Edge Wood Creek Varese MESA acted as exclusive financial advisor to Cutting Edge in its securing of equity from Wood Creek Capital for the acquisition of Varèse Sarabande.

For further information regarding this transaction, please contact Jerome Levy.

The New York Times, "Investor in Movie Soundtracks Buys a Record Label"

Variety, "Cutting Edge, Wood Creek Buy Varese Sarabande"

Billboard, "Varese Sarabande, Soundtrack Label, Sold to Cutting Edge Group"

ACE Theatrical Group

Close ACE Theatrical Group MESA acted as exclusive financial advisor to Ace Theatrical Group in its securing of a Senior Secured Term Loan from Congruent.

For further information regarding this transaction, please contact Jerome Levy.

MMN Media, Inc.

Close MMN Media, Inc. MESA acted as exclusive financial advisor to MMN Media, Inc. in its sale to Townsquare Media.

For further information regarding this transaction, please contact Daniel Gossels.

The New York Times, "Mog, an Online Music Service, Sells Its Ad Network for $10 Million"

TechCrunch, "MOG's Music-Focused Ad Network Sold to Townsquare Media"

AllThingsD, "The Rest of MOG Finds a Home: Radio Chain Townsquare Buys Ad Network"

 
See All Transactions >

Executive Team

Founder and Managing Partner at MESA, where Jerome has spearheaded an array of investment banking, strategy and valuation engagements for companies throughout the media space.

Compass Partners, a leading M&A advisory boutique, where he worked on structuring transactions between financial institutions and clients including EMI and McGraw-Hill.

Business Development at Canal Plus, a division of Vivendi Universal, responsible for managing acquisitions in the fields of video, music publishing and production.

Began career at Goldman Sachs International in London, where he worked on privatizations and M&A transactions.

M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Business; B.A. from Northwestern University.
Co-founder and CEO of <kpe>, a renowned provider of digital solutions for media and entertainment companies. <kpe> guided clients including CBS, Sony and Viacom on the development of their earliest digital initiatives. In partnership with Grey Advertising, the Endeavor Agency (now WME) and Wasserstein Perella, <kpe> also managed an early stage venture fund that invested in over 20 digital media companies.

Former Head of Business Affairs for The Voyager Company, a pioneering multimedia publishing company.

Began career at Creative Artists Agency.

Former Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award finalist.

Member of the Board of Directors of Rockwell Group, New York Cruise Lines, NEP Broadcasting and serves as Chairman of the Board of New Heights.

B.A. from Emory University.
Founder and Managing Partner at MESA, where Brian has led a broad range of investment banking, strategy and valuation engagements for media and entertainment companies.

Strategy Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he focused on engagements for companies including Nickelodeon, Elsevier, Reed Business, National Geographic, BMG Music, Paramount Parks, Lexis-Nexis, Harry Fox and MusicNet.

Founder and CEO of The Movies Magazine, the first magazine of newsstand quality distributed in movie theaters nationwide.

M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Business; J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School; B.A. from Tufts University.
Managing Director at Petsky Prunier, LLC, where Bob was active in the firm’s M&A advisory and private placement practices. His M&A clients included Alloy, Inc., Tree.com, Red Aril, Oversee.net and SkyMall, and he completed financings for clients including SpotXchange and BrightTag.

Vice President of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI), where he held positions in Strategic Planning and M&A and was actively involved in over $6 billion of public and private acquisitions across a range of e-commerce verticals, focusing in particular on online travel, financial services and real estate.

Vice President of the News Corporation Limited (NYSE: NWS), where he was instrumental in the Company’s international corporate development initiatives in sectors including radio & television broadcasting, thematic cable channels, satellite DTH and out-of-home advertising.

M.P.A. in Economics from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University; B.S. in Industrial Relations from Cornell University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.

 
Principal in the media practice and sector head for online entertainment, games, publishing and social media at Montgomery & Co., where his M&A clients included Club Penguin, DailyCandy, UGO, Grouper, iFilm, ITtoolbox and eCRUSH. Private placements included Realtime Worlds, WildTangent and Reactrix.

President and Chief Operating Officer of Hypnotic (Enigma Media, Inc.), a leading digital media, film and television company. Hypnotic’s credits include The OC, The Bourne Identity and Cry Wolf.

Investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corporation (DLJ), where his media clients included Charter Communications and Qwest Communications.

Investment banker at Bankers Trust / BT Securities Corporation, where he worked in the corporate capital markets and asset finance groups in New York and Hong Kong.

M.B.A. from Columbia Business School; B.A. from Brown University.
Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and M&A and Chief Financial Officer at Media Rights Capital, where Marni was responsible for new entertainment ventures and strategic acquisitions as well as corporate finance, financial reporting and analysis. Clients and partners included JPMorgan and Universal Pictures.

Executive Vice President, Corporate Development at Lionsgate Entertainment, where she managed M&A and strategic financial initiatives involving Trimark Pictures, Artisan Entertainment, Redbus Films Distribution U.K., Debmar Mercury, Break.com, Roadside Attractions and Mandate Pictures as well as the sale of Lionsgate Studios and the Canadian distribution business.

Chief Financial Officer at Lionsgate Entertainment, where she was responsible for finance and accounting, treasury and tax management, and oversaw several debt financings and equity offerings.

Vice President of Finance at Alliance Communications Corporation.

Principal at Coopers & Lybrand Chartered Accountants in Toronto, Canada.

M.B.A. from the University of Toronto; B.A. from the University of Western Ontario.
Managing Director in the media practice at Montgomery & Co., where he managed the company’s New York office and led the firm’s efforts in the advertising and marketing services sector. He advised on a wide range of transactions including public and private offerings of debt and equity, strategic mergers and acquisitions, and corporate partnering advisory work.

Investment banker with The Blackstone Group and with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

M.B.A./M.I.A. from Columbia Business School/Columbia School of International and Public Affairs; B.S. from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
Jonathan is a senior media and entertainment investment banker and C-level executive who has been founding, managing and advising media businesses in Asia for over 13 years.  Prior to MESA, he was Head of Media & Entertainment investment banking for Oppenheimer in Asia.  In this role, he oversaw financings and M&A throughout the region (including China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia) in these sectors.

Founder and CEO of Duo Guo, a VC-backed Chinese mobile content distribution channel.

CFO of EBT Mobile, a leading Chinese mobile-phone retail chain, which successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Investment Banker at Lehman Brothers in their Media & Telecom group, focusing on M&A.

Corporate Attorney at Coudert Brothers, where he specialized in corporate finance and M&A in the TMT sectors.

Serves on the Board of Directors of a number of companies throughout Asia, including a leading Japanese entertainment company.

M.B.A. from Columbia Business School; J.D. from Boston University; B.A. from Washington University.
Principal at Inverness Advisors, where he led the firm’s efforts in the Digital Media sector.

Vice President in the Media Team at Montgomery & Co., where he led execution on financing and M&A transactions for leading digital media companies including KickApps, Meebo, Move Networks and Sportvision.

M&A banker at Friedman Billings Ramsey, advising companies across the technology and media industries.

Corporate Finance banker at Citigroup in its broader technology practice.

B.A. from University of California Berkeley.

Executive Team

Founder and Managing Partner at MESA, where Jerome has spearheaded an array of investment banking, strategy and valuation engagements for companies throughout the media space.

Compass Partners, a leading M&A advisory boutique, where he worked on structuring transactions between financial institutions and clients including EMI and McGraw-Hill.

Business Development at Canal Plus, a division of Vivendi Universal, responsible for managing acquisitions in the fields of video, music publishing and production.

Began career at Goldman Sachs International in London, where he worked on privatizations and M&A transactions.

M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Business; B.A. from Northwestern University.
Co-founder and CEO of <kpe>, a renowned provider of digital solutions for media and entertainment companies. <kpe> guided clients including CBS, Sony and Viacom on the development of their earliest digital initiatives. In partnership with Grey Advertising, the Endeavor Agency (now WME) and Wasserstein Perella, <kpe> also managed an early stage venture fund that invested in over 20 digital media companies.

Former Head of Business Affairs for The Voyager Company, a pioneering multimedia publishing company.

Began career at Creative Artists Agency.

Former Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award finalist.

Member of the Board of Directors of Rockwell Group, New York Cruise Lines, NEP Broadcasting and serves as Chairman of the Board of New Heights.

B.A. from Emory University.
Founder and Managing Partner at MESA, where Brian has led a broad range of investment banking, strategy and valuation engagements for media and entertainment companies.

Strategy Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he focused on engagements for companies including Nickelodeon, Elsevier, Reed Business, National Geographic, BMG Music, Paramount Parks, Lexis-Nexis, Harry Fox and MusicNet.

Founder and CEO of The Movies Magazine, the first magazine of newsstand quality distributed in movie theaters nationwide.

M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Business; J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School; B.A. from Tufts University.
Managing Director at Petsky Prunier, LLC, where Bob was active in the firm’s M&A advisory and private placement practices. His M&A clients included Alloy, Inc., Tree.com, Red Aril, Oversee.net and SkyMall, and he completed financings for clients including SpotXchange and BrightTag.

Vice President of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI), where he held positions in Strategic Planning and M&A and was actively involved in over $6 billion of public and private acquisitions across a range of e-commerce verticals, focusing in particular on online travel, financial services and real estate.

Vice President of the News Corporation Limited (NYSE: NWS), where he was instrumental in the Company’s international corporate development initiatives in sectors including radio & television broadcasting, thematic cable channels, satellite DTH and out-of-home advertising.

M.P.A. in Economics from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University; B.S. in Industrial Relations from Cornell University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.

 
Principal in the media practice and sector head for online entertainment, games, publishing and social media at Montgomery & Co., where his M&A clients included Club Penguin, DailyCandy, UGO, Grouper, iFilm, ITtoolbox and eCRUSH. Private placements included Realtime Worlds, WildTangent and Reactrix.

President and Chief Operating Officer of Hypnotic (Enigma Media, Inc.), a leading digital media, film and television company. Hypnotic’s credits include The OC, The Bourne Identity and Cry Wolf.

Investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corporation (DLJ), where his media clients included Charter Communications and Qwest Communications.

Investment banker at Bankers Trust / BT Securities Corporation, where he worked in the corporate capital markets and asset finance groups in New York and Hong Kong.

M.B.A. from Columbia Business School; B.A. from Brown University.
Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and M&A and Chief Financial Officer at Media Rights Capital, where Marni was responsible for new entertainment ventures and strategic acquisitions as well as corporate finance, financial reporting and analysis. Clients and partners included JPMorgan and Universal Pictures.

Executive Vice President, Corporate Development at Lionsgate Entertainment, where she managed M&A and strategic financial initiatives involving Trimark Pictures, Artisan Entertainment, Redbus Films Distribution U.K., Debmar Mercury, Break.com, Roadside Attractions and Mandate Pictures as well as the sale of Lionsgate Studios and the Canadian distribution business.

Chief Financial Officer at Lionsgate Entertainment, where she was responsible for finance and accounting, treasury and tax management, and oversaw several debt financings and equity offerings.

Vice President of Finance at Alliance Communications Corporation.

Principal at Coopers & Lybrand Chartered Accountants in Toronto, Canada.

M.B.A. from the University of Toronto; B.A. from the University of Western Ontario.
Managing Director in the media practice at Montgomery & Co., where he managed the company’s New York office and led the firm’s efforts in the advertising and marketing services sector. He advised on a wide range of transactions including public and private offerings of debt and equity, strategic mergers and acquisitions, and corporate partnering advisory work.

Investment banker with The Blackstone Group and with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

M.B.A./M.I.A. from Columbia Business School/Columbia School of International and Public Affairs; B.S. from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
Jonathan is a senior media and entertainment investment banker and C-level executive who has been founding, managing and advising media businesses in Asia for over 13 years.  Prior to MESA, he was Head of Media & Entertainment investment banking for Oppenheimer in Asia.  In this role, he oversaw financings and M&A throughout the region (including China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia) in these sectors.

Founder and CEO of Duo Guo, a VC-backed Chinese mobile content distribution channel.

CFO of EBT Mobile, a leading Chinese mobile-phone retail chain, which successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Investment Banker at Lehman Brothers in their Media & Telecom group, focusing on M&A.

Corporate Attorney at Coudert Brothers, where he specialized in corporate finance and M&A in the TMT sectors.

Serves on the Board of Directors of a number of companies throughout Asia, including a leading Japanese entertainment company.

M.B.A. from Columbia Business School; J.D. from Boston University; B.A. from Washington University.
Principal at Inverness Advisors, where he led the firm’s efforts in the Digital Media sector.

Vice President in the Media Team at Montgomery & Co., where he led execution on financing and M&A transactions for leading digital media companies including KickApps, Meebo, Move Networks and Sportvision.

M&A banker at Friedman Billings Ramsey, advising companies across the technology and media industries.

Corporate Finance banker at Citigroup in its broader technology practice.

B.A. from University of California Berkeley.
See the Whole Team >

Contact

New York
MAP
Sixth Floor
New York, NY 10003
Los Angeles
MAP
Suite 250
Los Angeles, CA 90067
San Francisco
MAP
San Francisco, CA 94133