Provo, Utah — September 11, 2025

Angel Studios Inc., a media and technology company, has closed its merger with Southport Acquisition Corporation (OTC: PORT) and begins trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ANGX. The Provo, Utah-based company, is known for its Angel Guild model where 1.5 million members greenlight projects.

Angel's Guild is foundational to the company's governance: Guild members vote on what content gets made. No film/show is distributed without Guild approval. These are not passive subscribers — they are voters, decision-makers, and financiers.

Guild votes and engagement are more than symbolic: high voting participation = stronger demand forecasting, which helps lower content risk. The Guild gives Angel a built-in filter for what audiences want — reducing guesswork, aligning incentives between creators and audience, and providing marketing buzz because the audience feels ownership. This is one way Angel avoids greenlighting flops (see Evan Shapiro's recent LinkedIn post about Angel's lead in average Box Office numbers over the past two years, as compared with other studios).

Guild members enjoy premium membership benefits (tickets, merch, etc.) generating recurring revenue that add to Angel's stability.

Funding Overview

  • Crowdfunding maxed out: On September 6, Angel wrapped up a Regulation A campaign, pulling in $55 million in commitments from 40,000+ investors in just 18 days. Added to an earlier $20 million raise from 31,000 individuals, the company hit the $75 million statutory limit under the JOBS Act—a clear signal of retail investor demand and enthusiasm from supporters.
  • Credit facility: Angel secured a $100 million facility from Trinity Capital (Phoenix HQ; Solana Beach office) to fuel Guild expansion and content pipeline.

SPAC Structural Highlights (from SEC Filings)

  • Valuation & Conversion: Angel stock converts into Southport shares at a baseline $1.6 billion valuation plus pre-closing capital raised, divided by $10 per share. Options roll over into new Southport options.
  • Warrants: Southport public warrants convert into 0.1 share of Class A Common Stock each, then expire.
  • Governance: Southport changes its name to Angel Studios, Inc.; Angel becomes a wholly owned subsidiary.
  • Voting & Support: Sponsor and major Angel stockholders signed agreements to vote in favor and not redeem shares, effectively locking in support.

Advisors

Roth Capital Partners + Lake Street for capital markets; Oppenheimer & Co. for Southport; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (legal for Southport). Mayer Brown LLP (legal for Angel).

Mayer Brown's team included partners Brian Hirshberg, Mark Bonham, Andrew Noreuil, Sam Gardiner, Remmelt Reigersman and Ryan Ferris and included associates Ana Estrada, Madeline Grubert, Richard Scoville and law clerk Emily Bloom.

With 75,000+ individual investors, 1.5 million Guild members, and new institutional credit, Angel has carved out a unique niche: democratic content curation + membership revenue + public markets funding. If ANGX delivers, it could reshape how media gets financed—moving from studio-driven to community-curated and capitalized entertainment.

Next milestone: Angel Studios rings the NYSE closing bell today at 4:00 PM ET.

See Angel's announcement, updated on September 10, for additional details, cautionary statements for investors, etc.

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