TPG Growth, the middle market and growth equity investment platform of global alternative asset firm TPG, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in TRACE, the afro-urban music and entertainment media.
The remaining stake will be owned by TRACE’s co-founder and management team. TPG Growth will invest alongside Evolution Media and Satya Capital.
As part of the transaction, MTG, a leading international digital entertainment group that invested in TRACE in 2014, will sell its stake in the company. The transaction is subject to standard closing conditions, including regulatory clearance.
Founded in 2003, TRACE is a global multi-platform media and entertainment company that reaches 200 million viewers and listeners across 160 countries.
Recognized as the leading youth media brand in Sub-Saharan Africa, TRACE owns and operates 30 digital and mobile services, 21 pay TV channels, and seven FM radio stations. The platform hosts more than 400 concerts, web simulcasts with 360 degree immersive technology, talent search competitions and events across the globe each year.
TPG Growth’s investments in media and entertainment have included Spotify, a leading music streaming service, ipsy, an online makeup subscription and delivery service, and STX Entertainment, a next-generation motion picture, television, and digital content studio. Across TPG’s platforms, current and past investments also include Airbnb, Vice Media, Creative Artists Agency, Cirque du Soleil, and Uber.
TPG Growth’s partnership with TRACE highlights the rich opportunities that exist to invest in companies that have a presence in Africa, but can also operate successfully on a global level.
TPG Growth has five investments across Africa, which include Gro Intelligence, a global agricultural data business, Frontier Car Group, which supports Nigeria’s second-car sales business Cars45.com and Ecoles Yassamine, a Moroccan private school network.
