Inside the second town for a red nose day performance
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The popular Chicago-based comedy group The Second City, often referred to simply as Second City, was bought by private equity firm Strauss Zelnick, ZMC. With advice from Houlihan Lokey
HLI
ZMC announced the purchase but did not disclose the terms of the deal, but before the comedy group bought, The Financial Times reported that the deal could be as much as $ 50 million.
Chicago’s popular comedy staple has long been seen as a lifeline for talent Saturday Night Live with notable alumni including Tina Fey, John Belushi, Amy Poehler, Alan Arkin and Eugene Levy. The theater has long fallen on hard times with live events postponed due to Pandemic Covid-19.
In the summer of 2020, the brand caught additional fire when black actors called the theater for racism and ill-treatment. The theater promised to make big and often expensive changes to resolve their race issues and encourage black voices. In October, The Second City announced that it would be available for sale.
“We are thrilled to partner with The Second City’s management and incredible talent to grow the brand and build a diverse organization that raises every voice,” said Jordan Turkewitz, Associate Chief Investment Officer and ZMC ‘s Managing Partner in a statement. “Over the past sixty years, The Second City has been home to some of comedy’ s most popular names, and we intend to build on that. next generation of comedy talent by investing in people and creativity. “
Steve Johnston, President of Second Chair, said, “We are delighted to be working with ZMC as we continue to transform the company into a fair and successful environment while delivering comedy. World class to our audience. I want to thank the talent, staff, alumni and audience of The Second City for supporting us on our journey. ”
ZMC was founded in 2001 by Zelnick, CEO of video game group Take-Two Interactive, to invest in media companies. Second City is not the most traditional media company, but with three theaters, before the arrival of the 700 full-time and part-time employees and the Actors Equity platform contract, Second City is the largest live comedy brand in the US.
With many living spaces falling on hard times due to the coronavirus, purchases by private access or similar organizations may occur more frequently. Buying The Second City is buying more than a theater. He buys a legacy name and brand that has been associated with comedy programming. While the TV show, Second City Television, run in Canada in the late 1970s, the brand was not widely known for outside of live show and their comedy school. Especially now that live comedy is severely limited, ZMC may be looking to build the brand into new TV, film and media.