Bob Iger, former The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) chief executive, eBay, sports agent Rich Paul, and the Chernin Group, Peter Chernin's investment firm, are among the members of a consortium that is to buy 25% of toy maker Funko Inc (NASDAQ:FNKO).
Funko makes vinyl figures, action toys, plushies, apparel, board games, housewares, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and claims to be the world's largest license owner.
Disney, Warner Bros, Marvel, Lucasfilm, NBC Universal, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) (Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX)), Epic Games, NFL and the NBA are among its licensing partners.
Chernin will have two directors on Funko's board following the US$263mln investment in the pop-culture collectables company.
Peter Chernin and Iger will serve as board advisors.
Funko's shares jumped more than 40% on the news aided by first-quarter 2022 earnings, which beat expectations.
The toymaker earned US$308mln in the first quarter, up 63% year-over-year, while net income was 42% higher at US$18.4mln, or 34c per share excluding equity-based compensation, severance costs, and other expenses.
Analysts had predicted revenue of US$272mln and adjusted earnings per share of 22c.
"We believe Funko is significantly undervalued in the public markets and at this highly attractive entry price provides a runway of opportunity and growth potential," Peter Chernin said in a statement.
"There are many areas of identifiable growth across content, commerce, marketplaces, consumer products and technology that should drive substantial increases to Funko’s performance."
Iger tweeted, “I’m a big fan of @OriginalFunko and I’m excited to join the team!”
In the entertainment industry, Iger is known for helping Disney acquire Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and more recently, 20th Century Fox.
A large number of Funko's products feature characters from these franchises.
"This investment from TCG validates Funko as a leading lifestyle brand with a pulse on what’s trending in pop culture," Andrew Perlmutter, Funko chief executive said in a statement.