Dude Perfect has bulked up its war chest as it prepares for the next phase of its expansion. The entertainment brand that got its start with basketball trick shots has secured a “nine-figure” investment from private equity firm Highmount Capital.
Though the exact size of the funding round was not disclosed, the deal will imbue Dude Perfect with upwards of $100 million, which will be applied to the media company’s continued growth and expansion. Though Dude Perfect initially began with a single YouTube channel, it has since evolved into a multiplatform empire that includes a streaming service, an ownership stake in a Premier League soccer club, and even a cruise. Meanwhile, the original Dude Perfect channel is still going strong; it counts more than 60 million subscribers.
With its latest injection of capital, Dude Perfect will pursue new opportunities and projects while continuing to forge partnerships and build their management team. One upcoming project for the group (whose members are Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert, Tyler Toney, Cory Cotton, and Coby Cotton) is Dude Perfect: A Very Long Shot, an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary that will screen at the Dallas International Film Festival in April 2024. The group is also preparing to open a long-awaited headquarters in the Dallas area. The space will include trick shot towers and retail storefronts, among other amenities.
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Dude Perfect will continue to focus on family-oriented content as its operation expands. “The mission of Dude Perfect is to serve families with the most trusted entertainment on earth,” Coby Cotton said in a statement. “By partnering with Highmount Capital, we hope to pour gas on the fire and take the Dude Perfect fun that families have witnessed on screens these past 15 years and turn it into real-life products and memory-making experiences they can actually touch and feel for themselves.”
In a statement of his own, Highmount Capital Co-Founder and General Partner Jason Illian also praised the trust Dude Perfect has gained among families. He told The Hollywood Reporter that he projects a Disney-style growth spurt for the Texas-based fivesome. “I see the dudes doing the same thing [as Disney] in this family-friendly space,” he said.
Dude Perfect is not the first creator group to receive funding from a private equity firm. The Sidemen, who have a Disney-inspired plan of their own, inked a deal last year with U.K.-based Viewture. That group’s projects, like Dude Perfect’s, have included brick-and-mortar establishments, sports franchise sponsorships, and original documentary content.
