People | Michael Metzger

Michael Metzger

Managing Partner

FinTech

Digital Media

Los Angeles

Michael Metzger is an award-winning media and tech investment banker with over 25 years of experience advising on M&A and financing transactions as well as serving Internet and tech companies in operating and corporate development roles.

Some of Michael’s most notable transactions include the sale of Echtra Games to Zynga, Spiketrap to Reddit, FreshPlanet / SongPop to Vivendi / Gameloft, Slightly Mad Studios to Codemasters, nWay to Animoca, Firefly Studios to Devolver Digital, Wildworks to Nazara, Lightstream to Xsolla, Tastypill to Azur Games, EyeEm to NewValue, Avira to Investcorp, Slacker Radio to LiveXLive, SRS Labs to Xperi, Creators Media to Webedia, JumpStart Games to NetDragon, OUYA to Razer, WGT Media to TopGolf, Schematic Labs to Napster, Hearst Corporation’s UGO to IGN, mergers including Aeria Games with Gamepot / SONY and financing for Cinder by Animoca and Acorns by Paypal / Rakuten.

Michael holds five patents in the field of communications and serves as the Chairman and Board Director of the German American Business Association in Southern California (GABA).

Before joining Drake Star in 2018, Michael was a senior investment banker at Houlihan Lokey’s TMT group, a Principal at merchant bank MESA Global, and a Co-Founder and Principal of Internet and digital media-focused investment bank Covert & Co. Previously, he held senior management and engineering positions at AT&T, IBM, and Mindspeed. He received an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California (UCLA), Los Angeles and an MSEE from the University of Ulm, Germany.

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10 Aug 2023
Digital MediaSports Tech
Global Sports Tech Report Q2 2023
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11 Jan 2022
Digital MediaGaming
Global Gaming Report 2021
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20 Jan 2022
Digital MediaSports Tech
Global Sports Tech Report 2021
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07 Dec 2022
Digital MediaSports Tech
Global Sports Tech Industry Report | Q3 2022
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19 Oct 2022
Digital MediaGaming
Global Gaming Report | Q3 2022
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21 Apr 2022
Digital MediaGaming
Global Gaming Report | Q1 2022
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29 Aug 2022
Digital MediaSports Tech
Global Sports Tech Update | July 2022
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19 Jul 2022
Digital MediaGaming
Global Gaming Report | H1 2022
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21 Jun 2022
Digital MediaSports Tech
Global Sports Tech Update | May 2022
29 Jul 2024
Digital MediaGaming

Drake Star Sees Gaming M&A Activity Increase for Third Consecutive Quarter

11 Mar 2024
Digital MediaSportsTech and Fitness

Sports tech market generates US$37bn in mergers, acquisitions and financing during 2023 | SportsPro Media

28 Feb 2024
Digital Media

Game M&A hit $11.8B in 2023, lowest since 2019 | Quantum Tech Partners | GamesBeat

24 Jan 2024
Digital Media

Closed game deals hit record in 2023 but deal activity mixed in Q4 | Drake Star | VentureBeat

26 Oct 2023
Digital Media

Report: Game industry investment, deals to increase in 2024 | Axios

15 Aug 2023
Digital Media

Study: Sports tech startups raise US$1.6bn in Q2 as M&As reach US$14.5bn | Sports Pro Media

10 Aug 2023
Digital Media

SPORT TECH MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS ACTIVITY ROBUST, DRAKE STAR SAYS | Sportico

04 Apr 2022
Digital MediaGaming

Microsoft, Activision, and the convergence of the tech and gaming industries | The DB Podcast

07 Mar 2022
Digital MediaGaming

Game Industry M&A in 2022 and Beyond! Miniclip, Drake Star Partners, & FunPlus Weigh In

22 Feb 2022
Digital MediaGaming

All Time Highs: M&A in Video Games with Michael Metzger - VGRT S3 E1

31 Jan 2022
Digital MediaGaming

Sony Responds to Microsoft, Acquires Bungie for $3.6B as M&A Activity Heats Up

13 Jul 2020
Digital MediaGaming

Games Industry M&A Outlook: Who's Getting Acquired Next?

28 Apr 2020
Digital MediaGaming

How to Succeed in Free-to-Play? Compete with Yourself

06 Mar 2020
Digital MediaGaming

Superstar Fireside Chat: Team17’s Roller Coaster Ride: Fireside Chat with CEO Debbie Bestwick

01 Mar 2020
Digital MediaGaming

Panel: Pitch Perfect: How to Raise Funding from Investors

15 Dec 2019
Digital MediaGaming

Funding the next top grossing games companies

29 Apr 2019
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Eat Or Get Eaten, Consolidation Is Coming | GamesBeat Summit 2019 | Boss Stage, Day 1

15 Apr 2018
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GamesBeat Summit 2018: Hollywood and Games 2.0

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