LionTree
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Investment banking, Merchant banking |
| Founded | June 2012 |
| Founder | Aryeh Bourkoff, Ehren Stenzler |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | United States, Europe |
Key people | Aryeh Bourkoff (Founder) |
| Products | Investment banking services, Merchant banking, Media content production (Kindred Media) |
LionTree LLC is a U.S.-based boutique investment and merchant bank with a focus on the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) industries. While its headquarters are located in the United States, LionTree also maintains a robust operational footprint across Europe. Additionally, the company owns Kindred Media, a content production entity responsible for projects such as the KindredCast podcast.
History
LionTree was established in June 2012 by Aryeh Bourkoff, who previously led UBS's investment banking division in the Americas, together with Ehren Stenzler. The firm expanded its geographic reach by opening offices in San Francisco and London in 2016, followed by an additional office in Paris in 2017.
In 2017, LionTree co-founded Ocelot Partners, a special-purpose acquisition company aimed at making investments within the European TMT sector, alongside Andrew Barron and Martin E. Franklin. In March 2018, Ocelot completed the acquisition of Ocean Outdoor, a UK-based digital billboard operator, from Searchlight Capital.
That year also saw the creation of Kindred Media by LionTree to broaden its involvement in media content creation.
On June 16, 2022, following a $5 million gift benefitting scholar-athletes, the University of California, San Diego renamed its RIMAC Arena to LionTree Arena.
LionTree Advisors
The investment banking arm of LionTree, known as LionTree Advisors, provides services such as mergers and acquisitions, capital raising initiatives, and initial public offerings.
Significant deals managed by the firm include:
- CK Hutchison’s purchase of Italian mobile network Wind Tre
- Verizon’s acquisitions of AOL and Yahoo!
- The merger between CBS and Viacom completed in 2019
- Amazon’s takeover of MGM Studios
- Take-Two Interactive’s acquisition of Zynga
- The New York Times’ purchase of The Athletic
LionTree Partners
Functioning as the firm’s investment division, LionTree Partners concentrates on deploying capital primarily within the TMT sector. Among its prominent portfolio companies are Astra, Fanatics, Inc., and FuboTV.