Scooter Braun’s TQ Ventures partners may join Ariana Grande, in ditching him

nypost.com:

Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato have reportedly dropped him.The Hollywood super agent — who has been branded by Taylor Swift as a “manipulative bully” amid years of hard-knuckle disputes over her master recordings — is also on the outs with his co-founders at TQ Ventures, an investment fund he helped launch in 2018, On The Money has learned.

One source with direct knowledge said Braun’s co-founders — Andrew Marks, son of investing legend Howard Marks; and Schuster Tanger, heir to the Tanger Outlets mall fortune — have lately told some LPs that Scooter may not be involved in TQ’s future.Braun, Tanger and Marks each took an equal share at the fund’s inception even though Braun was not involved in the day-to-day operations, insiders said.

Initially, Marks and Tanger had been optimistic Braun’s celebrity connections could round out their financial expertise — potentially helping find investments or help their portfolio companies with marketing, sources said.Now, however, Marks and Tanger are reconsidering Braun’s involvement in the fund, claiming he didn’t live up to their expectations, the insiders added.

It’s unclear if that means Braun’s stake in the next fund will be diminished or eliminated altogether. Given only 20% of the firm’s most recent fund has been deployed so far, there is time to make a final determination.Sources close to Braun counter that TQ relied on his name to raise money and get access to good deals.