Catena Media makes first venture investment in Repackz.fun parent Collectbase

On 21 October, Catena Media named Collectbase Inc. as the recipient of the first cheque written by its new venture arm, Catena Growth Ventures. Collectbase is the parent of Repackz.fun, a B2B trading-card rips operation. Catena, an affiliate business, characterised the deal as a strategic investment. Collectibles.com also forms part of the partnership; the source calls it "a leading community and application used by collectors to organise, manage, value and share their collections."

“This investment is a further step in diversifying our revenue streams.”

Catena Media will also work with Repackz on the commercial front, making introductions to operators and publishers within its network. Manuel Stan, the chief executive, described the investment as a further step in diversifying revenue streams. He said Repackz "has built a proven product that leading operators are already taking live," and that through Catena Growth Ventures the company contributes "capital, operator relationships and distribution."

Dietrich von Behren, Collectbase's co-founder and chief business & strategy officer, explained the thinking behind the product: it lets operators and brands present genuine graded collectibles to their customers under their own branding, while sourcing, vaulting and fulfilment are taken care of. He also said Catena Media brings years of expertise in the market, and that its dual role as investor and partner strongly endorses what Collectbase has built.

A week before the announcement, the listed company warned on profit following a quarter it called "weak." According to Catena, that result underlined the case for widening its revenue mix past CPA deals, given how quickly the search market is changing. The company had already stated that it needs to look beyond affiliation for revenue.