The Nation Network announced a partnership with Altitude Investments, located in Edmonton, Alberta. The equity sale will see Altitude Investments assume a 20% equity position in the Nation Network and also provide a debt facility to be used at the discretion of the Nation Network team. The Nation Network will use the investment to bolster its balance sheet and fund development, talent procurement and acquisitions as the sports content firm prepares to enter an aggressive period of growth.
This partnership reinforces the Nation Network as leaders in hockey content creation. The investment recognizes the rapid growth of the community of hockey fans around the world and reflects a shared vision to increase the hockey content in North America and Europe.
As the sports media landscape continues to shift, the Nation Network believes there is a significant opportunity to expand its reach and brand and further the Nation Network’s mission to create premium hockey content delivered on demand, directly to fans on various platforms. Working with established experts, former players, and sports journalists alike, the Nation Network is committed to increasing video and podcast content to compliment hockey blogging and pushing it to their platform. The Nation Network is excited to use this partnership to grow its business in Canada, key U.S. markets and in Europe.
Chris LaBossiere, CEO and founder of Altitude Investments, notes, “At Altitude Investments, our passion is helping companies build scalable models and reach escape-velocity levels of growth. Our core purpose is to ‘create lift’ and we believe the Nation Network has an amazing track record of building authentic fan experiences and community across all of their properties. As long-time Citizens of the Nation Network, we understand their focus and mission to build one of Edmonton’s great companies and export their love of hockey worldwide. Simply put – sports media and entertainment is changing radically and I have zero doubt the future for hockey entertainment should and can be led from Edmonton.”
Nation Network co-founder Jay Downton adds, “We are entering into a period of fast growth for our business, focusing on U.S. markets and growing our audience in Europe. Our community of hockey fans continues to grow and we look forward to finding ways to engage hockey fans all around the world. We are thrilled with this partnership and we hope to be entering into another agreement soon with a major U.S. media company to supercharge our growth. We value Altitude Investments’ track record of success and look to their guidance as we go forward as two Edmonton companies working together.”
Starting with its flagship site OilersNation.com in 2007, the Nation Network has since become a 15-website network with over a billion page views served and approximate community of five million hockey fans around the world reading its sites monthly. Some other properties in the network include canucksarmy.com, theleafsnation.com, puckpedia.com, hockeyfights.com, and dailyfaceoff.com
Altitude Investments works hard to create lift in its financial portfolio, executive capacity, and the communities it works in. The focus of Altitude Investments is finding innovative industry leaders who would benefit from access to capital and the collective experience of the company’s founder and executive leadership team. Find out more at gainaltitude.ca.
