Watch out, it appears a new king is coming – King Mathew.
via: Deadline
The media fund has acquired Knowles’ Music World Entertainment Group and will merge its film and TV division within APX Capital Group. Knowles will manage this new division, which will be responsible for a €250M (US$275M) fund for film and TV co-productions between the U.S. and Italy.
One of the first projects that is set to come out of the deal is The Mathew Knowles Story, which will trace his story of how he helped his daughters become the global superstars that they are today and how he managed both Destiny’s Child and the solo careers of Beyoncé and Solange as well as Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland.
Knowles has evidently been buoyed by the success of King Richard, the story of Richard Williams, the father and coach of Venus and Serena Williams, starring Will Smith in the title role.
As part of the deal, the company will own 10,000 hours of footage depicting the history of the Knowles family in the music industry through never-before-seen images, videos and music.
He will also develop, finance and produce a range of diverse content across feature films, scripted series and documentaries. Knowles will exec produce alongside Baram, Wiesenthal, and Pelliccia.
APX Capital Group, which takes advantage of Italy’s tax credit program, was launched by Yona Wiesenthal, former CEO of the Israel Broadcast Authority and content chief at Israeli DBS platform YES and Augusto Pelliccia, Italian film financier and CEO of Augustus Group, with New York real estate entrepreneur Noam Baram as an equity partner in North America.
Knowles will joins APX’s board immediately and the structure of the financing will be streamlined through APX’s Italian subsidiary, MMF Global Italia. It is APX’s latest deal following a move to finance several films by Kees Kassander and Peter Greenaway.
Knowles said the partnership marked a “milestone” moment for his company and career.
“The decision to partner with APX Capital Group is well made and corresponds to Music World Entertainment Group’s intent to expand its film and television portfolio. Through this unique collaboration and as head of this new division under APX I’ll be able to share the story of my life by combining compelling storytelling with access to exceptional talent and music that will both entertain and emphasize a cultural awareness that’s necessary now more than ever. This is the story of my life, and I am honored to be able to transmit it even further through this alliance.”
“Mathew’s unparalleled career in the industry is shaped by his expertise in organizational culture, ethical leadership and activism. We’re tremendously honored to partner with him to bring attention to his personal accounts and the important cultural subjects that define our shared experience,” added Noam Baram, Co-CEO and Head of North America for APX Capital Group. “These stories will encourage us all to look at our history, respect each other’s perspectives and learn to co-exist in a diverse world that’s united by universal human values.”
“We are beyond thrilled to reach this groundbreaking agreement with Mathew and his team to develop impactful content told through the voice of one of the most successful and insightful entrepreneurs in entertainment today,” said Yona Wiesenthal, Joint Co-CEO of APX Capital Group.
This news comes as Zendaya‘s father, Kazembe Ajamu, called out Hollywood for how the industry has seemingly “shunned” the Black fathers of successful daughters.
