Audax Private Debt Provides Financing to Support Backstage’s Acquisitions of StarNow and The Mandy Network

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Audax Private Debt announced that, as Administrative Agent and Lead Arranger, it provided a senior secured credit facility to support add-on acquisitions for Backstage (the “Company”), a portfolio company of TA Associates and online career platform for creative talent. Backstage acquired The Mandy Network, a UK-based talent platform for cast, crew, production services and creative professionals, and StarNow, a New Zealand-based talent platform for actors, models, influencers, and musicians.

Headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, Backstage is a global platform that enables productions, brands, marketing agencies, and businesses to discover and work with highly skilled creative talent. The Backstage technology platform uniquely serves the needs of the fast-growing universe of talent and content creators, which has been driven by the democratization and proliferation of content creation. Together with the acquisitions of The Mandy Network and StarNow, Backstage’s user base includes over 250,000 paid subscribers, including actors, dancers, models, singers and voice-over talent; and over 20 million content creators and talent seekers — including professional casting directors, brand & acquisition marketers, production companies, advertising agencies and corporate end-users — engage with the platform annually.

“Backstage has served as a leading resource for both the film and performing arts sectors for over 50 years, and the addition of StarNow and The Mandy Network will further enhance the Company’s scale by broadening its geographic footprint,” said Adam Weiss, Managing Director at Audax Private Debt. “We are thrilled to be supporting Backstage and are confident that TA Associates will help the Company build upon this exciting momentum.”

“Audax Private Debt played a critical role in these transactions, and we appreciate their flexibility and ability to meet the timelines we set forth,” said Jason Mironov, Managing Director at TA Associates. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Audax team as we support Backstage in its next phase of growth and expansion.”

About Backstage

Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Backstage enables productions, brands, marketing agencies and businesses to efficiently discover and work with highly skilled creative talent. The company’s mission is to make the content creation process more efficient, effective and scalable. Backstage fosters career development and economic success for its users by developing and operating dedicated industry-specific profiles, workflow tools and jobs & services marketplaces to serve the unique demands of each creative vertical. To learn more, visit www.backstage.com.

About Audax Private Debt

Audax Private Debt has invested over $21 billion across more than 835 established middle market companies in support of over 235 private equity sponsors. Our platform offers a range of financing solutions, including first lien, stretch senior, unitranche, second lien and subordinated debt, as well as equity co-investments. We provide financing certainty, add-on investment capability, and the experience and collaborative approach to work with portfolio companies. Based in New York, our experienced team of investment professionals has built lasting relationships, establishing Audax Private Debt as a trusted name in the U.S. middle market. For more information, please visit www.audaxprivatedebt.com.

Audax Private Debt is an integral part of Audax Group, a leading alternative investment manager headquartered in Boston with offices in New York and San Francisco. Since its founding in 1999, the firm has raised over $27 billion in capital across its Private Debt and Private Equity businesses.