TZP Group Leads Series B Round in Wave Sports + Entertainment

New York, NY -- February 24, 2022

TZP Group announced it has led a $27 million Series B funding round for Wave Sports + Entertainment (WSE), a rapidly growing sports and entertainment company with over 110 million global followers. Crossbeam Venture Partners and GPS Investment Partners participated alongside new investors Verance Capital and Nimble Ventures. The round also includes 2022 NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo as a strategic partner, joining existing backers Golden Ventures, Sweet Capital, Henrik Kraft, Baker Mayfield, and Jay Williams.

Rich Battista will assume the role of Executive Chairman, bringing extensive experience from leadership positions at Time, Inc. and Gemstar-TV Guide, where he oversaw two multi-billion dollar public company sales. His background includes significant tenure at Fox overseeing sports and entertainment networks, prior CEO roles at Mandalay Sports Media, and current board membership with Major League Baseball Players, Inc.

The capital will fund expansion of new media brands, athlete-led original programming, premium content for engaged fans, sports betting content development, consumer products and real-world experiences, and technological advances including WSE's proprietary predictive content platform.

Brian Verne, CEO, stated: "WSE represents the future of sports and entertainment for an entire generation of new fans."

Shamit Mehta of TZP Growth Equity observed: "WSE is leading the shift to creating digital superfans by engaging audiences where and how they want to consume sports content."

Shamit Mehta led the transaction with support from Bill Hunscher, Choon Woo Ha, and George Philipose.