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Orkila Capital is a growth equity investment firm that prefers to invest in media, entertainment, and consumer sectors. The New York City-based firm was founded in 2013 by Jesse Du Bey and Taylor Storms. Du Bey has lived in Hamburg, Germany since 2018 and has given Orkila Capital a European presence. Prior to founding Orkila Capital, both worked at Providence Equity Partners. Du Bey, since the founding, has taken on the role of managing partner while Storms has taken on a partner role.
Orkila Capital principals look to use their experience and industry knowledge to focus on growth platforms with differentiated brands, IP, assets or content. This includes the firm's typical investments in growth equity investment opportunities in media, entertainment, and consumer platforms the firm feels they can help build. This includes pursuing proprietary opportunities.
Orkila Capital manages over $50 million of assets, including their first committed fund, Orkila Growth Fund I. In June 2017, Orkila Capital announced the firm's second fund, Orkila Growth Fund II, with over $118 million.
Orkila Capital seeks investments in companies at the forefront of evolving market opportunities, with the principals looking for growth platforms or opportunities with differentiated brands, intellectual property, or content. This has included investments in Antares, Cannamedical Pharma, Down The Drain Production, Mikkeller, Emerge, Recognition Media, CrashLine Productions, Feit, and Bellator MMA.
Speaking on the firm's investment in Cannamedical Pharma, Jesse Du Bey said of Orkila's investment strategy:
We look for leading platforms in massive and evolving consumer markets [...] As with our early leading investments in the global health and wellness space and the European craft beer industry, we believe Cannamedical's ability to provide customers with an innovative product and help develop the potential of a huge market.
In July 2021, Orkila took a 23% stake in the Belgian soccer club Brugge, giving the Belgian club 20 million Euros to help the club grow intellectual property, digital strategies, content development, and B2C strategies.
In 2020, Orkila Capital co-invested in The IRONMAN Group with Advance. This was a definitive stock purchase agreement with Wanda Sports Group Company Limited to acquire The IRONMAN Group in an all-cash transaction. The investment saw Jesse Du Bey rejoin IRONMAN's Board of Directors, alongside Advance and Andrew Messick. This represented Jesse Du Bey's second time on IRONMAN's Board of Directors.
Previously, when Jesse Du Bey was the managing partner with Providence Equity Partners, he was part of the sale of IRONMAN to Providence Equity Partners, which had Jesse Du Bey on the IRONMAN's Board of Directors. Jesse Du Bey has been an avid runner, a triathlete, and an IRONMAN athlete. During Jesse Du Bey's first time on the Board of Director's, IRONMAN was working to become a global event series and expand into mountain biking, trail running, and marathons. In conversation with Jesse Du Bey after the acquisition of IRONMAN, he stated:
The business of IRONMAN has evolved significantly since the Providence days, particularly the globalization of the various series, the significant growth in triathlon, running, mountain biking, and trail running, and the integration of global sponsorship, merchandise, digital, and other areas.
