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Ryan Kavanaugh
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Ryan Kavanaugh

Ryan Kavanaugh is a principal of Relativity Media, LLC, a self-sustaining media company engaged in the business of devel-oping, creating and acquiring content and content-related assets.

Kavanaugh created business and financial struc-tures for a number of studios, production companies and producers, and has introduced more than $10 billion of capital to these structures since moving from venture and private equity to entertainment industry transactions, including Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Marvel and many others.

In 2008, Relativity Media finalized its acquisition of Rogue Pictures from Universal. The purchase of Rogue, a company that specializes in the production and distribution of lower-budget films, includes the label's entire library of films, as well as producing deals and more than 30 projects currently in develop-ment. Rogue has had particular success within the horror genre; the first Rogue release under Relativity's ownership was The Unborn, starring Gary Oldman, Cam Gigandet, Odette Yustman and Idris Elba. The Unborn grossed more than $19 million at the box office opening weekend and has earned nearly $60 million to date. The Last House on the Left, based on a Wes Craven film, opened to $15 million at the box office and Fighting, starring Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard, grossed a strong $11.5 million opening weekend. Additionally, Relativity Media recently launched Rogue as an overall lifestyle brand to include a clothing line, a social networking plat-form and a music label.

In a significant milestone for the entertainment finance industry, Kavanaugh created a wholly owned subsidiary, Relativity Media Holdings, which has concluded an agreement with Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking on a co-financing package for approximately 45 studio films for the next five years. With this deal, Relativity will co-invest in approxi-mately seventy-five percent of Columbia Pictures' films, under a five-year revolving credit facility.

Jill Goldsmith of Variety wrote of Kavanaugh: His co-financing deals are the most successful ever in Hollywood. He's been amazingly proactive and is the envy of many on Wall Street involved in the business.

Kavanaugh has created a number of unique financing packages, including Gun Hill Road I and Gun Hill Road II, which provide discrete and separate funds for both Sony Pictures Entertainment and Universal Pictures, marking the first time two studios received funding from the same source. In January 2008, Relativity Media announced the formation of the wholly owned subsidiary Relativity Capital, which is to be a principal investor in major media transactions, including studio slates, the Relativity Media Single Picture Business, library acquisitions and other media-related cash flow investments. Elliott Associates, L.P., a New York-based hedge fund, will be working with and providing financing to Relativity Capital in these media transactions.

As part of its single picture business, Relativity Media develops, produces, finances and distributes approximately one film per month, packaged with top-tier talent and filmmakers and imbued with strong commercial appeal both domestically and internation-ally. Credits under this single picture business include 3:10 to Yuma, starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale for director James Mangold; The Forbidden Kingdom, teaming Jet Li and Jackie Chan for director Rob Minkoff; and The Bank Job, starring Jason Statham for director Roger Donaldson. Relativity's recent single-picture lineup includes Jim Sheridan's Brothers, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman; Lasse Hallström's Dear John, starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried; the heist thriller Brilliant, starring Scarlett Johansson; the family action film The Spy Next Door, starring Jackie Chan; and Rob Marshall's Nine, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren.

Prior to his work with Relativity, Kavanaugh started a venture capital company at age 22 and, during that time, raised and invested more than $400 million of equity due to a number of venture and private equity transactions.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2010.

Ryan Kavanaugh Facts

OccupationProducer

Selected Filmography

Not available.