Sonar Entertainment is a leading independent entertainment studio that develops, produces, finances and distributes premium content for global audiences. It also owns a significant library of media assets and the company’s customers include a variety of large Canadian and U.S. broadcast and cable networks. Before Sonar became what is it today, the Company, then called RHI Entertainment, was financially distressed, lacked a professional management team and did not have a sustainable strategy. In 2011, Catalyst Capital Group stepped into the situation and helped lead a restructuring process aimed at reviving the Company. Catalyst saw potential in RHI Entertainment and had a plan to turn it into a premier entertainment studio.
Post-emergence from Chapter 11, Catalyst led the restructuring of the senior management team, replacing each of the CEO, COO, and CFO. RHI, now renamed Sonar Entertainment, then strengthened its sales team and focused on increasing the sell-through rates of its existing library of titles while simultaneously ramping up new productions. Catalyst continued to support the Company with an additional capital including a major recapitalization in July, 2012. Catalyst also led the decision to move Sonar’s headquarters from New York to Los Angeles. The move brought Sonar operational efficiencies and strengthened its Hollywood relationships.
The Company’s renewed production focus and commitment to higher quality content produced excellent results. At the end of 2016, the Company had five (South of Hell, Shannara, Taboo, Mr. Mercedes and The Son) of its television series on the air, in production or ordered by networks and a strong pipeline of development projects including 2.3 Times a Week (Orange is The New Black’s Jenji Kohan producing) and The Fifth Beatle (event series about Beatle’s manager based on best-selling graphic novel).
Catalyst helped build Sonar into a Company with impressive financial strength possessing the freedom to fund high quality productions on a global scale and partner with the most innovative storytellers in the industry.