HarbourView Leads $30M Raise for Lion Forge Entertainment—with a Bob Marley Production in the Works

HarbourView Equity Partners has led a $30 million minority investment round into Lion Forge Entertainment. The Steward Family and Polarity remain majority owners of the Oscar-winning studio, while this funding will allow Lion Forge to scale up its intellectual property portfolio and premium franchise pipeline, supporting key growth initiatives across its studio verticals.

Lion Forge Entertainment, established in 2019, is one of North America’s few Black-owned entertainment studios of scale. Its credits include the Academy Award-winning ‘Hair Love,’ breakout hit series Iyanu—which has just had a second season and two feature films greenlit by Cartoon Network and Max—and an expanding pipeline that includes Marley & The Family Band in partnership with the Bob Marley Estate.

The studio’s multi-year first-look deal with Nickelodeon also brought projects like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to life. Recent partnerships extend to Penguin Young Readers, George R. R. Martin, Mostapes, and others.

This $30 million investment comes on the heels of HarbourView’s recent financial activity, which includes $500 million in debt financing from KKR, and an $85 million investment in Animaj, a French AI-powered kids’ and family media company. HarbourView has also partnered with Westbrook Studios, Flavor Unit, and Jesse Collins Entertainment to finance a slate of hip-hop biopics and backed Usher’s 2024 concert film, ‘Rendezvous in Paris.’

“We believe that content has the extraordinary power to influence the world,” says Sherrese Clarke of HarbourView. “This is a unique moment in the kids & family space and Lion Forge is seizing an opportunity to lean into its ability to tell compelling stories authentically and cultivate global franchises at scale. This synchronizes with our vision of how the next generation of multi-platform media companies can grow—by introducing fresh images, ideas and paradigms that reflect the evolving world in which we live and creating culturally authentic and socially relevant content.”

“Sherrese is a trailblazing investor, leading a culture-driving company. Her knowledge and track record will be immensely additive as we continue to scale our company and properties,” adds David Steward II. “This is a validating moment for our young company. The synergy between the shrewd investment strategy of HarbourView and the franchise-building blueprint at Lion Forge will enable us collectively to optimize opportunities at the nexus of entertainment, culture and content and grow into a category defining leader from a position of strength.”