What was once a profitable side hustle is now a bonafide business career.
Content creators Dude Perfect, a sports and comedy group with over 60 million YouTube subscribers, scored a nine-figure investment from a private equity fund.
Highmount Capital reportedly put between $100 million and $300 million into the company, which is mde up of five former college roommates who rose to viral fame for their over-the-top basketball trick shots. The group rose on YouTube exploring the intersection of sports and comedy.
With Highmount’s investment, Dude Perfect plans to expand into multiple avenues, including a retail store, its own streaming platform, a line of games, and even a theme park, which is set to be worth an estimated $100 million.
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“The mission of Dude Perfect is to serve families with the most trusted entertainment on earth,” said Dude Perfect member Coby Cotton in a release. “By partnering with Highmount Capital, we hope to pour gas on the fire and take the Dude Perfect fun that families have witnessed on screens these past 15 years and turn it into real-life products and memory-making experiences they can actually touch and feel for themselves.”
Dude Perfect started in 2009 and consists of former roommates Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert, Tyler Toney, Cory Cotton, and Coby Cotton. The group is expected to establish its headquarters in Frisco, Texas, at a “forthcoming” date.
“The name ‘Dude Perfect’ is synonymous with creative, fun, and wholesome entertainment at the intersection of sports and comedy. The Dudes’ success over the past 15 years is an incredible foundation upon which the next phase of growth will be built,” said David Hawkins, co-founder and general partner at Highmount Capital.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Dude Perfect had a revenue of $25 million in 2022, the majority of which came from live performances and merchandise sales.
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Source: entrepreneur.com