UPDATED with affirmation from the crew. Motherwell FC has confirmed that former Netflix and ESPN exec Erik Barmack and spouse, Courtney, a former longtime YouTube exec who’s now at, are bidding to turn into the Scottish soccer crew’s latest buyers.
Chairman Jim McMahon shared the information, which follows media experiences earlier this spring, in an investment update. He stated the crew’s followers, who already personal the membership, will be capable of vote in July on whether or not to permit the Barmacks to make a projected £1.95M ($2.48M) funding over a six-year interval.
In a letter to followers included with McMahon’s overview, the Barmacks recognized plenty of alternatives for progress, together with one apparent one given their CVs. After leaving his publish overseeing worldwide originals at Netflix in 2019, Erik Barmack grew to become CEO of manufacturing shingle Wild Sheep Content. Courtney Barmack, presently a senior exec at Snap Inc., spent 12 years at YouTube and labored at Google previous to that. The couple is predicated in LA.
“With our background in worldwide movie and tv manufacturing, we see vital alternatives to spice up MFC’s world visibility,” the couple wrote. “A broadcaster not too long ago approached us a couple of docuseries on the membership that might open appreciable industrial alternatives.”
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In a state of affairs paying homage to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McEIhenney’s takeover of Welsh soccer facet Wrexham, former Netflix worldwide originals chief Erik Barmack appears to be like set to amass a stake in Motherwell FC.
A report within the Scottish Every day Mail has named Barmack because the unnamed U.S. investor who’s planning to purchase into the Scottish crew, which performs within the Scottish Premiership alongside the likes of giants Celtic and Rangers.
Reynolds and McElhenney took over Wrexham for about £2M ($2.5M) in February 2021 when the membership was enjoying exterior the skilled English leagues, however have led a metamorphosis by investing closely and advertising and marketing the crew internationally by means of FX doc collection Welcome to Wrexham. Wrexham presently sits third in League Two, three beneath the Premier League, and Motherwell followers will probably be hoping Barmack can lead their membership to related new glories.
Motherwell has been searching for exterior buyers and launched a lighthearted video interesting for A-list stars akin to the Wrexham pair to come back forwards. The Scottish Every day Mail reported this had labored, with events from the U.S. and the Center East signalling curiosity.
Earlier this week, Motherwell’s administration launched an announcement, saying that funding discussions with “a U.S.-based household have reached the purpose the place each events want to transfer ahead to the subsequent stage,” and that the pair had reached a non-binding settlement on phrases.
That investor seems to be Barmack, and we perceive additional updates might comply with within the subsequent few days.
Barmack declined to remark when approached for remark this morning. Motherwell had not responded to a request for remark.
Barmack labored at Netflix for eight years between 2011 and 2019, overseeing its push into unique content material exterior the U.S. because the streamer expanded around the globe. He exited his publish as head worldwide originals 5 years in the past and later launched California-based producer and financier Wild Sheep Content material.
Since going it alone, he has engineering quite a few worldwide co-productions, together with Scottish movie KILL. As we revealed back in June 2022, the Rodger Griffiths movie starring the likes of Brian Vernel and Daniel Portman was a co-production with Scottish indie Synchronicity Movies and Mr B. Movies, with CAA Media Finance amongst others connected. The movie debuted on the Edinburgh Movie Pageant final 12 months.
Extra not too long ago, Wild Sheep has been connected to tasks reminiscent of survival thriller Looking Ana Bravo with MediaPro Studio; Viaplay original Jana – Marked for Life; Peacock telenovela adaptation Queen of Flow, which is from Westbrook Studios and Common Tv; and That is AP Dhillon, a doc for Prime Vide Indian about the breakout Punjabi hip-hop star.
This isn’t the one time an LA investor has purchased right into a Scottish membership — albeit the final time was in Succession. In season 2 episode ‘Dundee’ Logan Roy’s son Roman mistakenly invests in Scottish soccer crew Coronary heart of Midlothian, which is the Edinburgh rival of his father’s precise favourite crew, Hibs.
