Ex-Netflix Programming Exec Cindy Holland Joins Board of Entertainment Holding Company Horizon Acquisition Corp. II

Cindy Holland, the former longtime Netflix VP of original content who departed the streamer two months ago, has joined the board of Horizon Acquisition Corp. II, a special-purpose acquisition corporation targeting the media and entertainment space.

Horizon Acquisition Corp. II was formed in August 2020 by Todd Boehly, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Eldridge Industries, a holding company whose assets include MRC. In September, Penske Media Corp. (Variety‘s parent) entered into an agreement with MRC to form a joint venture that merges Billboard, Vibe and the Hollywood Reporter with PMC’s brands.

In September, Holland exited Netflix after 18 years at the company amid a restructuring of the TV team by content chief Ted Sarandos, who elevated Bela Bajaria to the role of VP of global TV.

Holland was named to the board of Horizon Acquisition Corp. II on Nov. 17, according to a company SEC filing Monday. Prior to joining Netflix back in 2002 as VP of content acquisition, she served as VP of business development for ecommerce company Kozmo.com. She also oversaw development, production and related agreements for feature films at Mutual Film Co. and Baltimore/Spring Creek Productions.

The other board members of Horizon Acquisition Corp. II, in addition to Boehly and Holland, are MRC co-CEOs Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk and DraftKings CEO Jason Robins.

Last month, Horizon Acquisition Corp. II raised approximately $500 million through an IPO to fund potential M&A activity. A SPAC is a kind of holding company formed solely for the purpose of raising capital through an initial public offering.

“While the company may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry, it currently intends to concentrate its search for a target business operating in the media and entertainment industries, with a focus on businesses with differentiated product and service offerings,” HAC II said at the time.

Boehly also heads a separate SPAC, Horizon Acquisition Corp., that raised $544 million and is focused on the financial services industry. The former president of Guggenheim Partners had acquired THR, Billboard, Vibe and Dick Clark Productions in 2015 when he exited the investment firm. Boehly’s Valence Media merged with MRC in early 2018.

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