Blue Man Group eyes global brand ramp-up

Blue Man Group is seeing green.

Armed with millions in new funding, the bright blue, bald-headed trio spawned off-Broadway is plotting an expansion of the brand, including a new 3-D movie, a possible videogame and educational products.

The original Blue Man founders — Phil Stanton, Chris Wink and Matt Goldman — quietly tapped New York boutique investment bank Mesa earliler this year to help it find funding partners.

Mesa, run by Mark Patricof, brought in private-equity firm GF Capital, which sources say agreed to pony up north of $25 million for a minority stake in the venture, valuing it at about $125 million.

“GF Capital was not interested in milking it or changing what we do,” said Stanton, who declined to provide any financial details. “Their focus is on helping us build value.”

One source said Cirque Du Soleil, which has expanded its circus-themed show around the world, is one model for Blue Man Group, although Stanton said the troupe prefers to limit global tours and instead focus on upgrading the stage show.

“Our shows are the core business, and we realize that it has to change to stay the same,” Stanton said. “We refresh it every two to three years.”

Blue Man shows can be seen tonight in New York, Boston and Las Vegas and overseas in Tokyo, Berlin and Stockholm. The troupe also has a deal to provide entertainment on board Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic boat.

Stanton said the company expects to start production soon on a National Geographic Entertainment 3-D film called “Mind Blast,” which is scheduled for release in 2011.

Blue Man Group, which began in 1988, is also embarking on a new 48-stop national tour that begins Sept. 2.

The group is no stranger to corporate alliances either, having appeared in a host of ads for Swatch watches, the LA Dodgers and Telecom Italia Mobile. The most memorable campaign was for Intel’s Pentium processors, which shot the troupe to international fame. [email protected]