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Blackstone Tactical Opportunities to Acquire the Certified Collectibles Group,

a Leading Provider of Tech-Enabled Authentication, Grading and Conservation Services for the Global Collectibles Industry

July 01, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SARASOTA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blackstone (NYSE:BX) announced today that funds managed by its Tactical Opportunities business (“Blackstone”) have agreed to acquire a majority stake in the Certified Collectibles Group (“CCG”) in a transaction valuing the company at more than $500 million. Mark Salzberg, CCG’s founder, and Steven R. Eichenbaum, CCG’s CEO, will retain a significant minority stake. Additional investors in today’s transaction include Roc Nation; Michael Rubin, founder and executive chairman of Fanatics; SC.Holdings, a growth equity platform; Mastry, founded by Rudy Cline-Thomas; Andre Iguodala; Daryl Morey, President of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers; and Main Street Advisors, a leading investment advisory firm to prominent athletes, recording artists, and other leaders across entertainment and business.

CCG is a leading, global provider of expert, impartial and tech-enabled services that add value and liquidity to collectibles. Founded in 1987, CCG offers authentication, grading and conservation services that have unlocked billions of dollars in secondary market value. Today, CCG sits at the forefront of the fast-growing global collectibles industry with offices on three continents, robust digital offerings and comprehensive certification services for collectibles.

Blackstone will seek to accelerate CCG’s growth, enabling the company to invest significantly in its current and planned services, adding and training new employees, expanding its geographic and product reach, acquiring new technologies and developing its digital presence. Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms with nearly $650 billion in assets under management and a strong track record of creating value and a positive impact for the companies it acquires and the communities that they serve.

C. C. Melvin Ike, Principal at Blackstone, said: “As thematic investors, we look for exceptional entrepreneurial teams succeeding in growing markets, and CCG is a great example. We have been closely following the rise of the global physical and digital collectibles industry for several years and we were drawn to CCG because of their leadership role in the categories that they serve, and Blackstone’s ability to grow the platform through both organic and inorganic initiatives. We look forward to working together to help the company continue and even accelerate its impressive growth trajectory.”

CCG’s leadership team will remain in place, combining their experience and expertise with Blackstone’s extensive resources. Over the last 35 years, CCG has expanded from collectible coins to comic books, banknotes, magazines, concert posters, stamps, trading cards, sports cards and estate items. CCG has certified more than 62 million of these collectibles, with a combined fair market value approaching $50 billion.

Mark Salzberg, Founder of CCG, said: “When I established CCG, I had a vision that we would transform collectibles into an asset class that is trusted by collectors, dealers and investors around the world. It has been incredible to be a part of this journey as we achieved and then exceeded these goals. I am excited to join with Blackstone as we enter the next phase of growth for CCG and the collectibles market.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Blackstone during this key point in the industry as the collectibles market continues to accelerate and attract new collectors and investors,” added Steven R. Eichenbaum, CEO at CCG. “From the moment we met the Blackstone team, we could tell that we shared the same vision for the future of our company and the global collectibles industry.”

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to CCG. Duane Morris acted as legal advisor to CCG. Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted as lead legal advisor to Blackstone. Golub Capital led the financing for the transaction.

About Blackstone

Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms and seeks to create positive economic impact and long-term value for investors, the companies they invest in, and the communities in which they work. Blackstone does this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Blackstone’s $649 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets, and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

About Blackstone Tactical Opportunities

Tactical Opportunities (Tac Opps) is Blackstone's opportunistic investment platform. The Tac Opps team invests globally across asset classes, industries and geographies, seeking to identify and execute on attractive, differentiated investment opportunities.

About Certified Collectibles Group® (CCG®)

CCG is a leading provider of expert, impartial and tech-enabled services that add value and liquidity to collectibles. The CCG companies include Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®), Numismatic Conservation Services™ (NCS®), Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®), Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®), Classic Collectible Services® (CCS®), Certified Sports Guaranty™ (CSG™), Authenticated Stamp Guaranty® (ASG®) and Collectibles Authentication Guaranty® (CAG®). Since 1987, the CCG companies have certified more than 60 million coins, banknotes, comic books, trading cards, sports cards, stamps, estate items and related collectibles. Today, CCG serves the world of collectibles online and at its offices in Sarasota, Florida; London, England; Munich, Germany; and Shanghai and Hong Kong, China. To learn more, visit collectiblesgroup.com.

JCAC LIVE & ONLINE AUCTIONS

Mark Rothko (American, 1903-1970)
A Last Supper, 1941
Oil on canvas
22-1/8 x 26-1/4 inches (56.2 ...
Auction 8099 | Lot: 67143 | Nov 4th
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1916 M101-4 Sporting News Babe Ruth Rookie #151 SGC NM 7....
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WILLIAM ADOLPHE BOUGUEREAU (French, 1825-1905)
Fishing For Frogs, 1882
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Auction 5096 | Lot: 64067 | May 15th
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Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel, 1961) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white to white pages....
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Population Report
It’s easy to determine the relative rarity of a card certified by CGC Trading Cards. The CGC Trading Cards Population Report shows the latest number of trading cards graded by CGC Trading Cards, organized by game, era and set. Use the search functionality to look up a specific card. You can also browse the CGC Trading Cards Pop Report’s different categories.

Trading Cards
Trading card collecting has exploded since the release of the first TCGs in the 1990s. In the CGC Trading Cards Population Report, explore trading cards by game, era and card set, and find counts, grades and sub-grades for cards graded by CGC Trading Cards. New games will continually be added in addition to Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering.

Census / Population Reports only reflect the quantities and types of collectibles previously graded by the CCG Companies, and are not an indicator of value or rarity. This Report is provided as a resource for hobbyists’ informational use only and should not be relied upon for the purpose of making a purchase or an investment. The CCG Companies make no representation or warranty concerning the accuracy or reliability of the information contained herein.

Caroll Spinney Signed 4.5x4.5 Cut Inscribed "Big Bird!" & "May 16, 2003" with Hand-Drawn Sketch

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Pele Signed Team Brazil 11x14 Photo JCAC LOA.

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Beckett scraps plans to massive grading scale change amid fan backlash!

Published April 3, 2023 at 11:16 PM EDT

It’s no secret that when it comes to getting sports cards graded, PSA is on top of the mountain. But that wasn’t the case before as Beckett put up quite a fight, especially in the years before the pandemic hit. These days, though, BGS’ numbers have been dwindling as SGC has already closed in on the second spot next to PSA. To recover their ground, Beckett recently released a grading scheme that will hopefully put it back on the map. The thing is, it caused a massive backlash instead from the sports card community.

A couple of days ago, Beckett announced that they’re updating their grading scale to offer a more comprehensive scheme for individuals who plan to avail of their services. In the table above, we can see that a 9.5 grade, which BGS labeled as Gem Mint before, has been downgraded to Mint+. For a card to attain that Gem Mint condition, it has to at least obtain a subgrade of 10. In the event it gets three 10s, Beckett would award the Gold Label Pristine. Last, but definitely not least, is the sought-after Black Label Pristine, which can only be possible if a card gets four perfect 10 subgrades.

If sports card collectors and investors felt that BGS’ grading scheme was already a handful, as compared to PSA and SGC, the updated one is even more confusing. But as baffling as it may seem, Beckett’s decision potentially put them in a better position to gain back customers as giving cards a 10 is always better than a 9.5, as evidenced by how the market gravitated to PSA 10s and SGC 10s being flipped faster than BGS 9.5s.

Ernie Barnes (American, 1938-2009) Quintet, circa 1989
Acrylic on canvas 36 x 60 inches (91.4 x 1...
Auction 8113 | Lot: 67048 | May 12th
Sold For: $645,000.00

AUTHENTIC! The Hunchback of Notre Dame Original Walt Disney Artwork (Walt Disney, 1996). Extremely RARE!
The Hunchback of Notre Dame Original Artwork (Walt Disney, 1996). This is a rare piece of Disney Consumer Products artwork. The piece was initially sold at the Disney convention in 1996. Rendered in blue pencil on 17" x 12.5" animation paper by Disney artist, Cody Reynolds. The artwork is hand-signed by the artist above the Disney stamp in the lower right. The artwork is also stamped with, "Concept Only Not For Release." The art is believed to be used for clothing or marketing related purposes. Light handling wear.
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TikTok Bans Card Breaking Video Streams

In near lockstep with the explosion of legal online sports gambling sites, the card-collecting industry has seen a proliferation of card breakers—parties that buy unopened boxes of sports cards and open them live on social media streams. Hobbyists (a/k/a gamblers) pay for spots in the “break” that will entitle them to keep all the cards in the box or case from a particular team. The outfits publicize their breaks with fantastic claims, “No matter which breaking method you choose, you always have a chance at uncovering the next Holy Grail!”

2022 Bowman’s Best case break offering from Filth-bomb Breaks

In most breaks participants pick a team or several teams (typically priced commensurate with the potential values of the most expensive cards for each such team) or a random distribution of teams (usually for a less expensive entry fee that is the same for each participant). The card packs are opened live, and the cards are shown individually so that all viewers can see who gets what.

The main enticement for participants is the hope for a “hit,” a valuable—if not contrived—insert like a 1/1, rare parallel, or autographed card that far exceeds the entry fee. Card breakers profit by charging more for spots than the cost of the unopened box or case. If all of this sounds a bit like gambling, you are probably right.

“While surprise-based products can be sold, they are currently restricted on our platform. This means that sellers who wish to sell or promote such products must abide by our TikTok Shop Gambling, Gifting and Surprise-based Product Control Guidelines.”

Social media giant TikTok announced in early March 2023 that it will no longer allow card breakers to broadcast their videos on its platform because of concerns that the activity may constitute illegal gambling. TikTok’s terms and conditions regarding surprise-based products were updated to specifically include “Surprise Trading Card Packs” and now require any presenter (e.g., card breaker) to sell any baseball cards in “the manufacturer’s original packaging and content without any alterations. All sold product(s) must also be sealed.”

PayPal had previously cracked down on breakers through its gambling prohibition, even when the specific activity was lawful or not legally defined as gambling, including: “Games of chance and games of skill – Includes any activity with an entry fee and a prize, regardless of whether the outcome is determined by chance or skill.”

Although the actual factors vary by state, the elements of gambling typically require (1) consideration [the price charged for entering the break], (2) chance [that the box(es) opened may contain chase cards such as 1/1s, parallels, and autographed cards, or alternatively, that the cards that are worth less than the entry fee] and (3) a prize [the insert cards (“hits”) have significant value on the secondary market].

You may be familiar with the phrase “no purchase necessary” when entering a contest promoted by a reputable company. Offering participants an option to enter a contest for free eliminates the “consideration” requirement—required to deem a contest illegal—even if a particular entrant had paid to purchase a product for entry. Not surprisingly, card breakers rarely allow free entry.

There are dozens of highly regarded card breakers operating now, however, the industry is unregulated and susceptible to issues. In 2022, Backyard Breaks got into some hot water when they decided to keep a Trevor Lawrence “Gold Kaboom” card (they believed to be valued in excess of $15,000) found during a break, instead of sending it on to the person to whom it was originally promised.

Rumors abound that card manufacturers intentionally give boxes loaded with hits to breakers.

Otherwise, a breaker who is adept at slight-of-hand can easily make sure valuable cards are not seen or distributed. In fact, there are articles available to help new breakers appear trustworthy. These recommendations include: keeping both hands on the screen, using multiple cameras, and showing that the box is empty.

Several baseball card manufacturers faced charges of illegal gambling in the 1990s when valuable insert cards first took the hobby by storm. [The card manufacturers ultimately won because a customer’s disappointment from not finding an insert card was not sufficient to establish damages under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.] It seems like it is just a matter of time before a disappointed break participant pursues a similar case against a breaker.

It remains to be seen whether other social media outlets like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch will follow TikTok’s lead due to the potential that card breaks constitute illegal gambling or if lawmakers will seek to impose any regulations on the booming card breaking business. As for now it is still the Wild West out there for gamblers—caveat emptor.

Paul G. Allen’s Art at Christie’s Tops $1.5 Billion,

Cracking Records!

A museum’s worth of masterworks from the Microsoft co-founder’s collection are offered in a two-part charity sale.

Five topped $100 million. Georges Seurat’s “Les Poseuses Ensemble (Petite version)” (1888) being auctioned during the Paul Allen sale at Christie’s in New York on Wednesday. The sale realized $1 billion with fees.

The New York Times
By Robin Pogrebin
Published Nov. 14, 2022

Just when it seemed the high-flying art market couldn’t soar any higher, paintings and sculptures from the collection of the Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen hit the $1.5 billion mark at Christie’s New York on Wednesday night, making it the biggest sale in auction history.

The first of two Allen sales, it shattered a six-month-old record of $922 million set at Sotheby’s for art from Harry and Linda Macklowe, squabbling spouses whose divorce settlement included the sale of their collection.

Where a price of $100 million used to signify entry to a rarefied club of auction record holders, the salesroom scarcely applauded as five lots exceeded that mark, including Georges Seurat’s “Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)” ($149 million, with fees); Paul Cézanne’s 1888-90 Cubism precursor “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire” ($138 million); van Gogh’s verdant scene of Arles, “Verger avec cyprès” ($117 million); and Gustav Klimt’s 1903 autumnal “Birch Forest” ($105 million).

The Klimt sale broke the previous high for the artist at auction: $88 million for “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II” in 2006, the same year Allen bought his Klimt for about $40 million.

Attesting to the apparent immunity to world events of the uppermost sliver of the art market, bidding at the sale was vigorous on several lots (there were four on the Seurat). Some art experts said the lack of a potentially market-rattling political rout in Tuesday’s election gave buyers greater comfort in parting with their funds for pretty pictures.

“People want to put their money into hard assets,” said the dealer Nicholas Maclean of London and New York.

The auction of the art of Allen, who died in 2018, generated a level of excitement not typically seen in an often-jaded art world. Among the usual suspects in the room — such as the dealers Larry Gagosian, David Zwirner, Amalia Dayan and Joe Nahmad — those who had flocked to the auction included the Christie’s owner, François Pinault, who sat in one of the more discreet skyboxes.

“We are seeing a very focused activity from collectors in response to rare masterpieces coming to market,” the dealer Dominique Lévy said. “A sale like this does not reflect the art market at large, but the appetite for exceptional rare works. It’s very important to understand the patina of this unique legendary provenance.”

The sale hit the $1 billion mark at Lot 32, Alberto Giacometti’s graceful standing nude “Femme de Venise III,” which sold for $25 million on an estimate of $15 million to $20 million. This development, however, was not announced by the auctioneer; those in the room were unaware that the art market had just made history.

Jascha Heifetz in the Case of the Violinist and the Fanatical Doorman
About one quarter of the lots by value went to Asian buyers. “Buyers in Asia are very much alive,” Gagosian said. “When something is rare and great, they are strong.”

Georges Seurat’s “Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)” was estimated at over $100 million. It sold for $149 million.Credit...via Christie's

Right from the start, the first three lots sold well above their estimates. These included Edward Steichen’s dark, haunting 1904 “Flatiron,” showing the Flatiron Building in New York. At $12 million — four times the high estimate — it set an auction high for the artist. It was the second highest price ever paid for a photograph, after Man Ray’s 1924 “Le Violon d’Ingres,” which went for $12.4 million at Christie’s last May.

More than 20,000 people viewed the collection in advance, with lines as long as two hours stretching down Rockefeller Plaza in midtown. Such previews often attract art fans who are eager to see masterworks before many of them disappear into private collections.

Paintings and other art pieces are regularly sold at auctions around the world. Here are some of the most expensive works to be sold in recent years:

“Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” by Andy Warhol. In May 2022, Warhol’s 1964 silk-screen of Marilyn Monroe’s face sold — in under four minutes of bidding — for about $195 million, the highest price achieved for any American work of art at auction.

“Untitled” by Jean-Michel Basquiat. A 1982 Basquiat painting of a horned devil sold for $85 million with fees in May 2022. It was the third-highest price paid for a Basquiat work; the highest price was recorded in 2017, when one of Basquiat’s coveted large-scale skull paintings sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby’s.

“L’empire des lumières” by René Magritte. The painting, one of Magritte’s famed “Empire of Light” canvases, sold in March 2022 for 59.4 million pounds with fees, or about $79.7 million. The artwork, which juxtaposes a nocturnal lamplit street with a serene daylit sky, is one of the most celebrated and enigmatic images in 20th-century art.

“Diego and I” by Frida Kahlo. An oil painting by Frida Kahlo sold for $34.9 million at Sotheby’s in November 2021, setting an auction benchmark for the most expensive artwork by a Latin American artist. The painting is one of Kahlo’s final self-portraits and an example of the unsettling intimacy that has attracted collectors to her paintings.

“Composition No. II” by Piet Mondrian. A classic grid painting by Mondrian sold at Sotheby’s in November 2022 for $51 million, including fees, topping the previous $50.6 million benchmark for his work. The painting epitomizes the primary colors and geometric rigidity of the de Stijl movement that Mondrian helped define.

The sale had been eagerly anticipated by collectors, not only for its record-setting estimates but because of the range of blue-chip works represented in Allen’s collection, which he started in the 1980s.

The artworks — more than 150 of which came to Christie’s, which will offer 95 of them in a day sale on Thursday — spanned 500 years of history. It ranged from Botticelli’s classical “Madonna of the Magnificat” (mid-15th to early 16th century), which sold for $48 million on an estimate of $40 million, to Wayne Thiebaud’s whimsical array of desserts, “Café Cart” (2012), which sold for $6 million on an estimate of $3 million to $5 million.

It included a fiery abstract painting by Jasper Johns, “Small False Start,” an early work from 1960, which sold for $55 million (the estimate was $45 million to $65 million). The work of blues, red, yellow and orange broke the artist’s $36 million record, set in 2014, for a flag painting bought by Alice Walton. “It tells the story of his relationship to collage,” said the art adviser Allan Schwartzman, who has a professional relationship with the Allen estate. “It’s an exquisite object.”

An early Jasper Johns painting, “Small False Start,” was estimated at $45 million to $65 million. It sold for $55 million.Credit...Jasper Johns/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; via Christie's

The collection was heavy on figurative works like Édouard Manet’s painterly snapshot of a paddling gondolier, “Le Grand Canal à Venise,” and David Hockney’s “The Conversation,” which depicts the curator Henry Geldzahler and the writer Raymond Foye engaged in a tense conversation.

David Nash, who served as an art adviser to Allen, said the tech magnate had brought the same enthusiasm to buying paintings as he had to all of his other interests, which included sports teams, marine biology and brain research. “The Seurat is probably an irreplaceable painting — and the van Gogh and the Cézanne,” he said.

At the same time, some art experts said the sale was a better barometer of Allen’s buying prowess than of his singular aesthetic passion. “It’s like the tech mind — everything is in amazing condition, vivid colors, not too disturbing, not too sexual — like a numbers or computer guy would think it through; every one of them is a near perfect example,” said the dealer and collector Adam Lindemann. “I don’t think the collection says much about him. You can walk through the whole thing and not come away with a feeling about Paul Allen. It’s very analytical and very precise.”

Gustav Klimt’s “Birch Forest,” oil on canvas from 1903, was estimated in excess of $90 million and sold for $105 million.Credit...via Christie's

Schwartzman, the art adviser, on the other hand, said he saw in the collection “someone who had a very personal connection to the works he bought.”

He added, “I find it moving that someone who has had so much impact on how the world functions today also had this strong and personal response to the artist and the hand.”

Allen was somewhat ahead of his time in collecting works by women, including Agnes Martin, Louise Bourgeois and Barbara Hepworth. And on Wednesday, Georgia O’Keeffe’s “White Rose with Larkspur No. 1” sold for $27 million, more than four times the low estimate of $6 million.

Vincent van Gogh’s “Verger avec cyprès” (1853-90), which sold for $117 million.Credit...via Christie's

Paul Cézanne’s “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire” (1888-90) sold for $138 million.Credit...via Christie's

Christie’s guaranteed the entire sale, meaning the auction house had agreed to pay the Allen estate a minimum negotiated price for the whole cache. Christie’s then in turn offset that risk by securing minimum bids on many of the lots from third parties — people who agreed to a purchase price in advance, thereby ensuring they could buy the work if it didn’t exceed the guarantee.

All of the proceeds went to philanthropy, as Allen directed; his estate has not disclosed the beneficiaries, perhaps to avoid alienating potential buyers who did not agree with the charitable causes.

The high prices affirmed Allen’s discerning taste, as well as his eye for art that was likely to appreciate. In 2016 he sold Gerhard Richter’s painting of an American fighter jet for $25.6 million, more than double the $11.2 million he had paid a decade before, and in 2014, he sold a Mark Rothko painting for $56.1 million, for which he had paid $34.2 million in 2007.

“He was a top-of-the-market buyer,” said Amy Cappellazzo, a prominent adviser and former auction executive, “without a lot of competition.”

Paul Signac’s pointillist work “Concarneau, calme du matin (Opus no. 219, larghetto),” from 1891.Credit...via Christie's