SpottedRisk is excited to expand its footprint in the specialty entertainment segment with the acquisition. “We’ve always been impressed with the Media Guarantors team and the exceptional level of service they provide in an industry that has become commoditized over the years,” says Janet Comenos, CEO of SpottedRisk. “Both of our organizations are bringing new and fresh ideas to the entertainment insurance industry and we have aggressive goals to grow our business in this space.”
Cast & Crew CEO Eric Belcher said the transaction will enable Media Guarantors to scale its business quickly and effectively, given SpottedRisk’s technology and analytics expertise. “At the same time,” he added, “Cast & Crew looks forward to coordinating with Media Guarantors and SpottedRisk on marketing and product and service offerings to provide to clients of both companies a full range of payroll and human resources; accounting and financial management; workflow and productivity, and insurance services.”
Media Guarantors will continue to be run as a distinct brand and now a wholly-owned subsidiary of SpottedRisk. Additionally, it will continue under the leadership team of its CEO, Fred Milstein, head of production and underwriting Scott Nicolaides and Erica Fishkin, head of legal and business affairs. With capacity for the completion bonds secured directly from AXA XL insurers which are rated AM Best A+, Media Guarantors will maintain its exceptional level of service and support, engaging directly with its clients to underwrite the completion guarantees it provides.
Milstein says, “The infrastructure that SpottedRisk has built is aimed to take companies like Media Guarantors to the next level and to provide new and unique product features and services that will enable us to serve our clients better in this dynamic and changing environment than anyone else in the space. We feel that our management teams share a sentiment of building a customer-first experience and we are well-positioned in the post-COVID world to grow our market share.”
SpottedRisk was supported in this transaction by its lead backer, Boston-based private equity firm Schooner Capital. Schooner Managing Director Ted Henderson says, “The addition of a strong brand like Media Guarantors to the SpottedRisk portfolio will widen SpottedRisk’s foothold in the entertainment space and is the first of many opportunities we will consider.”
ABOUT SPOTTEDRISK
SpottedRisk is a private-equity backed specialty analytics and underwriting firm founded in 2016 by two former technology industry executives that built an expert team of data scientists, research analysts, and veteran underwriters. The company focuses on building new data-driven insurance products that address the gaps in coverages in the entertainment and event industries, among others – SpottedRisk uses defensible analytics to improve the underwriting and evaluation of emerging and specialty risks that take advantage of time-sensitive market dislocations. SpottedRisk’s analytics have been used in dozens of stories written by reputable publications such as The New York Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Adweek. To learn more, visit www.spottedrisk.com
ABOUT CAST & CREW
Cast & Crew Entertainment Services, LLC (www.castandcrew.com) provides technology-enabled payroll and human resources, accounting and financial, and workflow and productivity software and services to the entertainment industry. Cast & Crew services include payroll processing, residuals processing, workers’ compensation services, labor relations, production incentives and production tax credit financing. Cast & Crew PSL+ production accounting software serves the needs of the film, television and digital media industries. The company was founded in 1976 and its corporate headquarters are in Burbank, California.
ABOUT MEDIA GUARANTORS
Media Guarantors™ (www.mediaguarantors.com) is a specialized completion guarantor that brings unmatched experience, flexibility, security and responsiveness to a wide range of domestic and international filmmakers and productions. A critical resource and partner to filmmakers around the world, Media Guarantors brings filmmakers tailored solutions to support their creative visions.