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.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More