Affiliate Playmaker Capital Inc. has acquired La Poche Bleue, a Quebec-based sports media and entertainment group.
The acquisition places Playmaker Capital in Quebec. As part of the deal, La Poche Bleue Co-Founders Maxim Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse, and Managing Director Louis-Philippe Dorais will stay with the company.
La Poche Bleue is an established Quebec brand with a strong following in the province, which has more than 9 million residents.
La Poche Bleue’s collection of video podcast includes eight shows in both French and English focused on the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens, NHL developments, National Football League fantasy football, Major League Baseball storylines and Quebec lifestyle.
La Poche Bleue’s flagship property – La Poche Bleue – produces weekly episodes. It currently boasts 31,000 YouTube subscribers. Since its debut, La Poche Bleue has generated more than 5 million views, with an average view time of more than 30 minutes.
Jordan Gnat, Playmaker CEO, said, “We’ve made it very clear that establishing a meaningful and authentic presence in Quebec is core to our continued growth in North America. La Poche Bleue is an incredible producer of sports content and consumer products with true fan affinity in Quebec. In addition, Maxim, Guillaume, and Louis-Philippe are consummate professionals with strong ties to the local community.
"Maxim and Guillaume are bonafide sports personalities who will continue to drive the brand’s entertaining and culturally relevant content offering. This marks a significant step in our North America expansion strategy and an exciting day for Playmaker as we add more great players to our team.”
Lapierre and Latendresse said, “We’re very proud of the strong following that La Poche Bleue has cultivated over the past several years, and we’re excited to carry on our mission of developing and promoting Quebec products.
"We’re also thrilled about the opportunity to join the Playmaker team which will help us embark on this next phase of growth and expand Playmaker’s business into Quebec."
