The $4 Billion Silent Takeover: PE Firms Are Buying Your Favourite YouTubers 📹

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There might be something you probably didn't notice while watching your last YouTube video: There's a decent chance the creator you're watching doesn't actually own their channel anymore. 

Private equity firms have been quietly acquiring YouTube channels and MCNs at an accelerating pace, with collective investments totaling approximately $4 billion.

The channels aren't telling you. 

YouTube isn't highlighting it. 

But if you're watching Veritasium, Fireship, Donut Media, Dude Perfect, or even CoComelon, you're watching content that's partially or entirely owned by investment firms with names you've never heard of.

This isn't the old MCN story from 2015 when Disney bought Maker Studios. 

This is something different - and it's changing how the entire creator economy and influencer marketing game works for brands.

In the first half of 2025 alone, 52 M&A deals were completed in the creator economy space. That's up from 30 transactions in the first half of 2024 - a 73% year-over-year increase. The players behind these deals aren't media companies. They're private equity firms, holding companies, and investment groups.

The Public Acquisitions:

Channels that have publicly acknowledged being acquired include:

Veritasium (science education, 16M+ subscribers)

Fireship (coding/tech, 3M+ subscribers)

Donut Media (automotive, 7M+ subscribers)

Economics Explained (finance education, 2.5M+ subscribers)

History Hit (history content, multiple channels)

Task and Purpose (military analysis)

The Quiet Acquisitions:

Some of YouTube's biggest names have been acquired more privately:

Dude Perfect (sports/comedy, 60M+ subscribers)

CoComelon (kids content, 180M+ subscribers)

Colin and Samir (creator economy commentary)

The pattern is clear: PE firms are targeting established channels with predictable revenue, loyal audiences, and professional production quality.

Founded in 2024 by Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient Lucas Kollmann, Lunar X specializes in YouTube channel acquisition and roll-ups - investing in content brands and transforming them into "global entertainment franchises." They operate across four major hubs: London, Los Angeles, Dubai, and Singapore.

Their strategy involves acquiring multiple channels in similar niches and building a portfolio approach to content creation.

This London-based outfit has been particularly active, investing in Veritasium, Fireship, and Simple History between 2023 and 2024. Their pitch to creators focuses on providing capital for production upgrades while maintaining editorial independence.

Industry sources reveal several common acquisition models:

For years, brands worked with creators on the assumption they were dealing with independent entrepreneurs. That's increasingly not true, and it fundamentally changes the dynamics.

Portfolio Negotiation Power:

When you approach a creator that's part of a PE-backed portfolio, you're not negotiating with an individual anymore. You're negotiating with an investment firm that owns 20-50 channels and can offer package deals, volume discounts, and coordinated campaigns.

Industry sources report brands discovering mid-campaign that their "independent creator partner" is actually one of 30 channels owned by the same firm.

Content Control Questions:

PE-backed creators often have content approval processes that go through management layers. The spontaneity and authenticity brands value in creator partnerships becomes filtered through business development teams.

Exclusivity Complications:

Traditional creator contracts include exclusivity clauses for competing brands. When a PE firm owns multiple creators in the same vertical, exclusivity becomes complicated. Does an automotive brand's deal with one channel exclude them from the firm's other automotive channels?

Rate Standardization:

Independent creators negotiate rates based on their individual metrics and needs. PE-backed portfolios are implementing standardized rate cards across their channels, reducing negotiation flexibility but increasing pricing transparency.

The creator economy in India was valued at approximately $3 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $4.8 billion by 2025. This explosive growth hasn't escaped PE attention, but the actual acquisition activity tells an interesting story.

Unlike the Western market where dozens of channels have been acquired, India has seen minimal PE acquisition activity. Industry sources tracking M&A in the creator space report fewer than 5 confirmed Indian creator acquisitions by institutional investors, and none by major PE firms.

Conversations with Indian creator managers and industry insiders reveal several barriers:

Cultural Ownership Mindset:

Indian creators come from entrepreneurial backgrounds where maintaining ownership and control is deeply valued. The idea of "selling your channel" carries different connotations than in Western markets where exits are celebrated.

Better Direct Monetization:

Top Indian creators like CarryMinati, Technical Guruji, and Bhuvan Bam generate ₹15-50 crores annually through diversified revenue streams (brand deals, merchandise, events). They don't need PE capital the way smaller Western creators do.

Platform Creator Funds:

YouTube paid out ₹21,000 crores to Indian creators and committed an additional ₹850 crores to support creator growth. This direct platform investment reduces the capital gap that PE firms typically fill.

Valuation Disconnect:

PE firms are offering 2-4x annual revenue for Indian channels versus 3-5x for Western channels. Indian creators see this as undervaluation given their growth trajectories.

Language and Cultural Barriers:

International PE firms lack expertise in evaluating regional language content performance, making valuation and due diligence more complex.

While acquisitions haven't happened at scale, the groundwork is being laid:

Deal Flow Building:

International PE firms opening India offices specifically for creator economy opportunities

Inquiry volume from potential buyers increasing 40-50% quarter-over-quarter in H1 2025

Focus initially on English-language tech, finance, and education channels

Exploratory Valuations:

Industry sources report that mid-tier Indian creators (500K-2M subscribers) have received preliminary acquisition inquiries in the ₹2-8 crore range, though few have progressed to term sheets.

The First Movers:

Tech and finance channels with English-language content and diversified revenue are receiving the most serious interest. Gaming and entertainment channels face more valuation skepticism.

Professionalization Wave:

Major Indian creators are incorporating production companies, hiring professional management, and building business infrastructure that makes acquisition due diligence easier.

Revenue Transparency:

As more creators work with talent management agencies and formalize their business operations, revenue verification becomes simpler for PE buyers.

Regional Language Opportunity:

The realization that Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and other regional language creators have natural moats against international competition is making PE firms reconsider their English-only approach.

First Mover Advantage:

Whichever PE firm successfully acquires and grows Indian creator portfolios first will have significant advantages in a market where Western valuations are becoming prohibitive.

The Target Profile Emerging:

Expected Deal Values:

₹5-15 crores for initial acquisitions, potentially scaling to ₹25-50 crores for established portfolios once the model proves successful in the Indian market.

This PE consolidation looks different from the MCN wave of 2012-2016 when companies like Maker Studios, Fullscreen, and Machinima dominated.

Old MCN Model (2012-2016):

New PE Model (2023-Present):

The Key Difference:

For Brands

For Independent Creators

For Agencies

For Investors

The PE takeover of YouTube represents the maturation and financialization of the creator economy. What started as individuals with cameras has become an asset class worth billions.

For creators, this creates unprecedented exit opportunities and growth capital access. For brands, it complicates the creator partnership landscape and requires more sophisticated due diligence. For the industry, it signals that creator content is now viewed as stable, scalable, and monetizable enough to attract serious institutional capital.

The next 24 months will determine whether this consolidation enhances or undermines what made creator content valuable in the first place: the authentic connection between individual creators and their audiences.

Publicis Bet: Publicis Groupe acquired influencer marketing agency Influential for $500 million in July 2024, signaling major advertising holding companies taking creator economy seriously.

Creator Resistance: Multiple high-profile creators declining PE acquisition offers, citing desire to maintain creative control and long-term ownership.

Valuation Inflation: Channel valuations increasing 40-60% year-over-year as more PE firms compete for quality assets.

Indian Deal Flow: At least three international PE firms opened India-focused creator acquisition desks in Q1 2025.

Portfolio Performance: Early PE-backed creator portfolios reporting 25-35% revenue growth post-acquisition through operational improvements.

Brand Concerns: Major advertisers developing new vetting processes to understand creator ownership structures before campaign launches.

Agency Consolidation: Influencer marketing agencies also becoming M&A targets as PE firms build vertical integration.

Regulatory Watch: FTC considering ownership disclosure requirements for PE-backed creator sponsored content.