Bloomberg is reporting that YouTube megastar Jimmy Donaldson, aka Mr Beast, is seeking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to fund his off-platform ventures. If successful, it would value his company at an eye-watering $5bn.
Donaldson’s plan is to create a holding company to encompass all of his commercial activities. Aside from his wildly successful YouTube channel, these include confectionary brand Feastables and snack business Lunchly.
Talks are at an early stage and there are few details on who Donaldson would bring in. Financial firms and HNWIs (high net worth individuals) have been cited, but it’s also possible a media company might be interested in investing. Already, Donaldson has forged a working alliance with Amazon Prime around his Beast Games franchise, which became the streaming’s most watched unscripted show ever.
While a full takeover by a media company seems unlikely, a deal which involves the transfer of cash in return for a regular pipeline of content might make sense. At time of writing Mr Beast has 368m YT subscribers. Around a third of his fan base is in the US, but he also has the kind of broad global reach that would interest streamers.
