It looks like Bob Iger has found his new company to expand as Deadline has reported Funko is now 25% owned by Ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger and eBay.
This was an unforeseen turn around by Funko Pop lovers!
The former Disney CEO Bob Iger, along with Ebay, and other such investors, all bought a 25% stake in Funko. However they aren’t the only ones investing.
Former chair and CEO of Fox Group Peter Chernin, founder of the Chernin Group wants to put two directors on the board for Funko.
With these investors throwing $263 million into the mixing pot, they are hoping to expand on the Funko brand. Once the deal between the new investors and Funko went public, shares in the company hit $21 per share.
Bob Iger, eBay And Peter Chernin Go All In With Funko
Credit: Nasdaq
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The CEO of Funko Andrew Perlmutter stated:
The Chernin Group validates Funko as a leading lifestyle brand with a pulse on what’s trending in pop culture. The investment group brings expertise, deep understanding of the markets we serve, and track record of working successfully with companies in the pop culture and entertainment space to create value and drive growth.
Another investor, Rich Paul, founder and CEO of head of sports at United Talent Agency and Klutch Sports Group threw his hat into the ring. He will be focusing on Funko’s music and sports product expansion. Paul also represents LeBron James and we can only guess from here what will come out of the sports and music background he has.
We can’t forget about eBay’s part in this. eBay and Funko made a deal to use the website as another avenue to distribute Funko merchandise. Making it that much easier for those around the world who couldn’t purchase directly from Funko to be able to access new accessories and exclusive Funko products through the website.
Stefanie Jay, eBay chief business and strategy officer stated:
Funko sits at the intersection of pop culture, passion and collectibles, with one of the most engaged communities of enthusiasts, Building on the incredible appetite for Funko products on eBay, we look forward to what our companies can do together.
Funko Poised To Branch Into New Markets
Credit: Tania González/CNET
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With Funko already being a household name, Chernin expressed his thoughts about making the brand reach a little further. He stated that the company wanted to expand to doing more things such as adding digital and physical options, as well as increasing their intellectual properties and maybe getting licensing for properties Funko didn’t already have.
Chernin explained:
We believe Funko is significantly undervalued in the public markets and at this highly attractive entry price provides a runway of opportunity and growth potential, There are many areas of identifiable growth across content, commerce, marketplaces, consumer products and technology that should drive substantial increases to Funko’s performance.
We all know that Bob Iger, Disney’s ex CEO, was responsible for many of Disney’s acquisitions. Under his leadership, the company acquired 20th Century Fox, Pixar, Marvel and LucasFilm. As we all know Funko makes collectibles from most of the characters under the Disney name, some in part thanks to Iger’s business sense.
Peter Chernin is no slouch as well. Under Chernin Entertainment he’s been responsible for The Greatest Showman, and New Girl. While at the Fox Group he was responsible for Avatar (yeah you read that right the guy who made it possible for creepy giant blue puppets) Leonardo DiCaprio’s Titanic, and The Planet Of The Apes trilogy. And if youire an anime fan the Chernin Group is also investors of Crunchyroll and a card game called Exploding Kittens.
All of these new changes only serve to peak curiosity about what is in store for the beloved Funko brand, which only makes keeping an eye on the brand a huge deal. Which we will make sure to do here at Small Screen.
What do you think of Funko taking on investors? What do you think they will make next? What do you hope will come from all of this?
Let us know you thoughts in the comments below!
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