US-based sports and entertainment investment firm Bruin Capital has purchased a minority stake of sports-focused production company Box to Bix Films.
The stake, reportedly sitting at around £30 million ($38 million), will help Box to Box to expand into self-financed projects.
The production company is most well known for its “Drive to Survive” series of documentaries on the streaming service Netflix, centered around the Formula 1 motor racing series and its teams.
Box to Box also produces the ongoing tennis-focused Break Point Netflix documentary and made the service’s Tour de France: Unchained cycling documentary in 2023.
The new investment can open doors for Box to Box in terms of widening its operations, expanding its list of collaborators within the sports business, and growing the company in general.
The purchase has likely been inspired by the major growth in interest in sports media over the last few years.
Since the first season of Drive to Survive aired in 2019, covering the sport's 2018 campaign, its popularity has been credited with driving fresh interest in Formula 1, particularly in the US.
On the other hand, some traditional F1 fans have railed against what they see as a growing sensationalization of the sport and what they see as an attempt to create artificial excitement at points in order purely to boost Drive to Survive numbers.
Bruin Capital’s cash injection in the company comes just a week after the announcement that the firm was divesting from its ownership of Two Circles, an international digital-focused sports agency.
Two Circles was bought by UK private equity fund Charterhouse for a fee reported to be around £250 million.
Bruin had acquired 80% of Two Circles in 2019 with the funding going toward the business’ expansion in much a similar fashion to Box to Box.
Other investments by Bruin include travel and hospitality firm On Location, which is the official hospitality provider of the Olympic Games, and video streaming technology firm Deltatre, which most recently announced a digital partnership with North American ice hockey’s National Hockey League.
