Transaction Demonstrates Global Market Leadership Through Rightsline’s Expansion from Hollywood into a Global IP Commerce Powerhouse
BOSTON March 30, 2022 — MediaBridge Capital Advisors today announced that it served as the exclusive investment advisor to REAL Software Systems, a leading provider of IP Commerce software globally, with its Alliant platform managing over $12 billion in royalties annually across multiple industries. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Rightsline’s acquisition of REAL unites two leading rights and royalties management systems into one complete platform covering the full intellectual property lifecycle, operationalizing millions of contracts and processing billions of dollars in royalties annually. The acquisition will extend Rightsline’s core IP rights management services to fully support end-to-end financial and royalties workflows while simultaneously expanding its market from media and entertainment into gaming, publishing, consumer products, life sciences and high tech, among other global industries.
Since its founding in 1993, REAL Software Systems has grown to become a leading provider of IP Commerce software globally. Today, its flagship platform – Alliant – automates the contractual rights, royalties accounting, revenue sharing and profit sharing of more than 70 notable companies with a wide range of underlying IP.
REAL’s CEO noted, “The MediaBridge team played an important role in the execution of this transaction. Their deep knowledge of the media technology sector and professional expertise was instrumental in guiding REAL through the complexities of the acquisition process.”
In November 2020, Rightsline was acquired by Klass Capital, a Toronto-based investment firm, in a majority transaction. As part of that transaction, Klass Capital’s investment provided Rightsline with growth capital to scale their platform offering, fuel hiring efforts and accelerate growth into new verticals and product categories, both organically and through M&A. With the acquisition of REAL, Rightsline cements itself as the leader in the $8.7-billion global IP Commerce market. The combined worldwide team of industry and technology experts tops 160 employees and is slated for sustained growth as the company sets its sights on continued expansion.
Ethan Jacks, Managing Partner of MediaBridge, remarked, “Early in the process we identified the potential synergies between these two highly respected companies. As they engaged with each other, the principals quickly recognized their shared values and the many potential benefits that joining forces would create. We were honored to represent REAL in this important transaction between two industry leaders and see a very bright future for them.”