new media company SpringHill. Photo/Ezra Shaw/Getty
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By Kerry Flynn, CNN Business
(CNN) — LeBron James wants to tell stories. Now he has $100 million to help him do it.
The basketball star and his business partner Maverick Carter announced the formation of a new media company, SpringHill Co., which will be supported by a $100 million funding round.
Bloomberg Businessweek, which published the report on Thursday for a cover story in next week’s issue, said that the duo formed the company on March 11, the same day the NBA suspended its season after Utah Jazz all-star center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. But news about the company was not made public until Thursday.
SpringHill Co. consolidates James’ marketing agency Robot Co. with entertainment companies SpringHill Entertainment and Uninterrupted LLC, according to Bloomberg. SpringHill Entertainment is behind TV shows such as “The Wall” and such films as the upcoming sequel to “Space Jam.”
On its official Instagram account, SpringHill is billed as “a media company with an unapologetic agenda – a maker and distributor of all kinds of content that will give a voice to creators and consumers who’ve been pandered to, ignored, or underserved.”
“When we talk about storytelling, we want to be able to hit home, to hit a lot of homes where they feel like they can be a part of that story,” James told Bloomberg. “And they feel like, Oh, you know what? I can relate to that. It’s very organic to our upbringing.”
The company has already signed a TV production deal with Walt Disney Co. and is working with Netflix on a basketball-themed movie starring Adam Sandler, according to Bloomberg.
James is serving as chairman and Carter is the CEO. Bloomberg reported that the board is comprised of News Corp. heir Elisabeth Murdoch, Guggenheim Partners chief investment officer Scott Minerd, Serena Williams, Apollo Global Management co-founder Marc Rowan, Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino, Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner and L.A. investment banker Paul Wachter.
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