Private equity firm TPG Capital has bought a 35 percent stake in Creative Artists Agency, one of the largest talent agencies in Hollywood and a powerhouse in representing actors, directors and athletes.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed Friday.
CAA represents actors such as George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Meryl Streep as well as athletes ranging from New York Yankees’ baseball player Derek Jeter to Real Madrid soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.
The agency and the investment firm also pledged to create a $500 million fund for future investments. The firms didn’t say if they will contribute to the fund or if it will be raised from third-party investors. The amount would be available to the companies for joint ventures and is separate from TPG’s investment in CAA.
TPG will gain representation on what will become a 10-member board. CAA’s six managing partners also agreed to sign on for new multiyear deals. While those partners will cash out some of their stakes in the transaction, all of CAA’s approximately 1,000 employees are to receive a bonus from the influx of capital.
TPG, with $47 billion under management, owns stakes in companies such as Burger King, Lenovo and Graphic Packaging Holding Co.
Two years ago, CAA partnered with former Merrill Lynch employees to create a venture called Evolution Media Capital LLC, which recently represented Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and sports lawyer Chuck Greenberg in their successful bid to buy the Texas Rangers baseball team for $590 million.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More