Saban Capital Adds New MD
The media investment firm’s taking on a leader with IP and licensing expertise could signal content plays.
July 1, 2009
Elie Dekel will join Saban Capital Group, a private investment firm that specializes in media, entertainment and communications plays, as a managing director.
Dekel will specialize in licensing, merchandising and intellectual property opportunities with his new employer. It’s nothing new to the West Coast pro; he has previously served as licensing and merchandising head for 20th Century Fox; marketing products for many of the network’s top hits, including The Simpsons, Family Guy and Ice Age. He also worked as an agent with the Creative Artists Agency.
Dekel also has experience with his latest employer; he was president of Saban Consumer Products/Fox Family Worldwide, again overseeing branding efforts.
Dekel comes into a well-capitalized investment machine at a time when industry executives have said that content value is plummeting to an all time low. Difficulty financing films will create cinematic flops unless marketing is well-supported, which will in turn affect portfolio values. Sources have said that some entertainment catalogs have been hit by value reductions as substantial as 50 percent.
Saban Capital, based in Los Angeles, is already a visible player in the entertainment industry, with investments in Univision, the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States; Israel's leading television network; Bezeq, Israel’s largest telecommunications service provider; and Next New Networks, a leading online video and content production company. The firm was founded in 2001 by Haim Saban, a longtime Hollywood executive.
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