26North Leads $700 Million Equity Investment in NEP Group to Accelerate Growth and Innovation

26North Partners LP (“26North”), the next-generation alternatives platform founded by Josh Harris, today announced a significant equity investment in NEP Group (“NEP”), a global leader in media services and technology solutions for the live sports and entertainment industry. Carlyle, NEP’s existing sponsor, is participating alongside 26North in this investment and will remain NEP’s largest shareholder, reaffirming its long-term commitment to the company.

“We’re excited to partner with NEP CEO Martin Stewart, his leadership team and Carlyle to build on the strong foundation they’ve created,” said Mark Weinberg, Head of Private Equity at 26North. “NEP represents the kind of business we seek to invest in: a global market leader with a stellar reputation for service delivery, technical expertise and innovation that keeps customers coming back for compelling storytelling around their most important events.”

NEP powers many of the world’s most iconic productions, including the Super Bowl, the World Cup, the Olympics and major entertainment events like the Oscars. NEP partners with leading broadcasters, rightsholders and producers to bring their content to life through state-of-the-art mobile production units and studios, industry-leading software solutions, audiovisual and lighting technologies, and a deep bench of engineering talent.

The new investment from 26North will support continued expansion as NEP scales to meet rising global demand for premium live sporting events and spectator experiences. In addition, NEP stands to benefit from the extensive sports and live entertainment ecosystem of 26North Founder Josh Harris, who is also the Founder and Managing General Partner of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and the Managing Partner of the Washington Commanders.

“We’re thrilled to take NEP to the next level with outstanding capital partners at our side,” said NEP CEO Martin Stewart. “Josh brings exceptional expertise in creating one of the world’s leading sports and entertainment portfolios, and he and the 26North team have a proven track record of growing businesses across industries. We also couldn’t be more pleased to have earned the continued trust and support of Carlyle.”

Under Carlyle’s ownership, NEP has expanded its international reach, strengthened its remote production and software capabilities, and deepened partnerships with major broadcasters and streaming platforms.

“NEP sits at the intersection of many of the most powerful trends in sports, media and entertainment — spaces where we can bring differentiated capital and capabilities,” said 26North Private Equity Partner Gary Freilich. “We see tremendous opportunity to help accelerate NEP’s next wave of innovation as the go-to platform powering the world’s most significant live broadcast and in-person productions.”