• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, March 7, 2013

Alloy Digital -- the youth-focused media company and video network -- has raised $30 million from ABS Capital Partners.
 
With the Series A investment, Alloy plans to continue its acquisition strategy, CEO Matt Diamond said Thursday. Job one for Diamond is “adding complementary, relevant properties and talent,” he explained. The company also plans to invest in product development and technology.
 
Alloy is perhaps best known as the owner of Smosh -- the wacky sketch-comedy brand Alloy acquired for an undisclosed sum in 2011.
 
Since its 2005 debut on YouTube, Smosh has racked up more than 2 billion views, and 6.8 million subscribers, according to channel tracker VidStatsX. Better yet, Forbes recently estimated that the brand raked in about $10 million in ad revenue, last year.
 
As Alloy executives have admitted, however, the success of Smosh is difficult to replicate. That is why it is so important for the company to keep extra money on hand for strategic acquisitions.
 
Along with Smosh, Alloy made several acquisitions in 2011, including online entertainment news producer Clevver Media, and Generate, a full-service studio and talent management company.
 
Investors, for their part, seem confident that Alloy knows which way the new media winds are blowing. “It is at the forefront of the shift in content consumption to digital media,” Deric Emry, general partner at ABS Capital, said of Alloy. “This trend is fundamentally changing the way that entertainment is created, distributed and monetized.”
 
In addition to the investment, Emry is joining Alloy’s board.