Create Music Group Gets $165M Backing From Private Equity Firm Flexpoint Ford

Chicago-based private equity firm Flexpoint Ford said on Tuesday that it invested $165 million in Create Music Group in a funding round that a source said values Create as worth $1 billion.

Create plans to use the money to scale operations, expand services and fund acquisitions, said CEO & founder Jonathan Strauss.

“Flexpoint’s investment will support our ambitious acquisition strategy, which will allow us to expand our market presence and create the scale to continue to provide unparalleled services to our clients and partners,” Strauss said in a statement.

Founded in 2015, Hollywood-based Create Music Group operates the Gen Z-focused digital entertainment and marketing agency Flighthouse and the independent music distribution platform Label Engine, which earlier this year distributed Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign‘s collaborative album Vultures 1. 

Flexpoint Ford is a private equity firm with roughly $8.2 billion in assets under management that invests primarily in financial services and healthcare companies. Last year, it announced investments in Nettwerk Music Group and a “significant investment” in Charles Goldstuck‘s catalog and music assets acquisition company GoldState Music. Goldstuck also participated in Create’s funding round, according to a statement.

“As a media company that offers comprehensive support to artists, including distribution, marketing, financial solutions and audience engagement, Create Music Group has created a blueprint for the future of music,” said Flexpoint Ford managing director Mike Morris.

Create’s financial advisers on the deal were The Raine Group, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher acted as Create’s legal counsel. Flexpoint’s legal counsel came from the firm of Reed Smith.