Over the past 25 years, the media & entertainment industry has gone through a period of extraordinary innovation, disruption and transformation, which has fundamentally changed the way in which all forms of media are produced, distributed, marketed, consumed and monetized. For nearly 3 decades, the only constant in the media & entertainment industry has been change. I have dedicated my investment banking career to advising forward thinking, innovative companies, entrepreneurs and investors who are catalysts for change and are transforming the media & entertainment landscape.
Daniel brings over 25 years’ experience of combined media & entertainment and investment banking experience and has an outstanding track record advising innovative, growth companies at the intersection of media & entertainment and technology. Daniel is widely recognized for his deep industry knowledge and extensive, long-term relationships with the most active and important strategic buyers and investors across the media and technology landscapes.
Prior to joining Intrepid, Daniel spent 10 years at Houlihan Lokey, where he served as Managing Direct and Co-Head of Digital Media within the firm’s TMT / Technology Group. Daniel’s notable clients included Play Magnus on its sale to Chess.com; Chess.com on its growth investment from General Atlantic; Jukin on its sale to Trusted Media Brands; VIX on its sale to Univision; The Second City on its sale to ZMC; Machine Zone on its sale to AppLovin; Vertical Networks on its sale to Whistle; Parcast on its sale to Spotify; SheKnows on its sale to Penske Media; Whistle Sports on its capital raise from Aser; Slacker on its sale to LivexLive; and PlayNetwork on its sale to TouchTunes.
Daniel joined Houlihan Lokey in 2015 through the acquisition of his prior firm, MESA, a merchant bank and advisory firm specializing in digital and traditional media transactions, where he served as a Managing Director and Head of Digital Media. As one of MESA’s five partners, his M&A clients included Songza on its sale to Google; Viacom on the spinoff of game assets Addicting Games/Shockwave to Defy Media; MOG on its sale to Beats by Dre; Grab on its sale to Blinkx; and Metrolyrics on its sale to CBS.
Before MESA, Daniel was a Partner in the media practice at Montgomery & Co. and sector head for online entertainment, games, publishing, and social media. While there, his M&A clients included Club Penguin on its sale to Disney; DailyCandy on its sale to Comcast; UGO on its sale to Hearst; Grouper on its sale to Sony; iFilm on its sale to Viacom; and eCRUSH on its sale to Hearst.
Prior to Montgomery & Co., Daniel was President and Chief Operating Officer of Hypnotic, where he played a central role in building the company into a leading digital media, film, and television company Hypnotic’s film, TV, and branded entertainment credits included The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The O.C., Cry Wolf, and Terry Tate: Office Linebacker.
Before Hypnotic, Daniel was an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. (DLJ), where he worked on M&A, high-yield, and equity (IPO) transactions principally in the media space.
* Represents transactions executed by professionals of Intrepid while at prior firms.