Shamrock backs Saylor and folds in Mutiny to build a fandom agency

Seven months after buying gaming agency Mutiny, Shamrock Capital has gone shopping again, and this time the new arrival is taking the lead.

The Los Angeles investor has taken a majority stake in Saylor, a social-first creative agency for entertainment brands. Adweek reports it is an eight-figure investment. Once the deal closes, Mutiny will merge into Saylor and become its dedicated gaming division, with the whole business trading as Saylor.

Five years from launch to PE platform

Will Trowbridge founded Saylor in 2021. Its clients include Hilton, Netflix, Disney, Paramount+, CarMax and Tubi, and GamesBeat notes it has made Adweek's Fastest Growing Agencies list three years running, as well as the Inc. 5000 and Ad Age's Small Agency of the Year honours. It has also launched its own creator studio, Fleet, and production studio, Elevado.

Mutiny, also founded in 2021 and based in Los Angeles, works only in gaming, using audience data and creative strategy to reach players for publishers and brands. Shamrock bought it in February through its Clover Fund I and is putting more money in through the same fund to make this combination happen.

Trowbridge stays as CEO and runs the full group. Mutiny CEO Geordie Larratt-Smith becomes Saylor's chief commercial officer and keeps running the Mutiny team.

The pitch: fans, not followers

The combined agency wants to take what gaming and entertainment know about building communities and sell it to brands in other categories. "Brand fandom has become a need-state, not a nice-to-have," Trowbridge said in the announcement.

Shamrock knows this territory. It was set up in 1978 as the family investment company of the late Roy E. Disney and, according to GamesBeat, manages around $7.4 billion across media, entertainment and communications.

Advisers

PALAZZO was Saylor's exclusive financial adviser, with Davis+Gilbert as its legal counsel. Willkie Farr & Gallagher advised Shamrock.

The takeaway for founders

Being bought second into a PE platform does not mean being bolted on. Saylor's name, founder and growth story are what the new group is built around. Investors will reshape a portfolio around whichever agency has the strongest momentum, so the clearest way to keep control of your future is to be that agency.

Sources: Shamrock Capital, Adweek, GamesBeat, Willkie Farr & Gallagher