French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault has completed his acquisition of a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency. Through his family investment company Artemis, Pinault replaces private equity player TPG as the primary holder of one of Hollywood’s superpower talent agencies.
CAA, a diversified shop that makes deals on behalf of clients from Tom Crusie to the top-selling kids toys Squishmallows, joins Artemis’ $40 billion asset portfolio which includes Kering (the luxury goods group that houses names like Gucci and Saint Laurent), Christie’s auction house and winery Château Latour. The transaction, not yet completed, will value CAA at $7 billion.
The agency’s ruling triumvirate of Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett have all committed to remaining in leadership, though terms were not immediately disclosed, a formal announcement on Thursday said. Lourd will be named CEO after the Artemis transaction closes, a timeline for which was not specified. Jim Burtson, who led the CAA deal team, will remain President of CAA.
“Artémis is a strategic investor of the highest order, with global reach and resources across countless areas of our clients’ interests, a deeply sophisticated understanding of global brands and how to support their growth, and a passion for creativity and innovation that matches ours and that of our clients,” Lourd, Lovett, Huvane and Burtson said in a joint statement that praised Pinault and his team leads Héloïse Temple-Boyer and Alban Greget. “We are enormously grateful to TPG for their strategic expertise, invaluable support, and friendship over 13 years. We enjoyed tremendous growth and success together and look forward to continuing to collaborate on projects ahead.”
Rumors of the stake sale sparked earlier this year with talks formally heating up in mid-July. Singapore-based investment firm Temasek will remain a minority investor in CAA. CMC Capital remains a CAA strategic partner.
TPG executive chairman Jim Coulter said it’s been “a privilege to partner with CAA during one of the most exciting periods of innovation and transformation across the media and entertainment industry. CAA has dramatically expanded its platform over the past 13 years and today operates as the premier gateway for leading talent and content creators globally. This has been a hallmark partnership for our firm, and we wish the team continued success in its next chapter.”
The Pinault deal comes as the entire agency landscape is squeezed by ongoing labor strikes from the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. It also follows CAA’s ingestion of long-established rival ICM Partners, bolstering its TV literary and publishing units among others.
CAA is a category-defining leader in the representation of talent and brands in entertainment, sports, and beyond. The company recently completed the successful acquisition and integration of global talent and sports agency International Creative Management (ICM) and CAA Brand Management, a leading brand development and management firm for the world’s most iconic brands.
The agency counts divisions in film, television, theatre, music, video games, publishing, and podcasts, endorsements, speakers and fashion. Allen & Company LLC served as financial advisor to CAA, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal counsel. Rothschild & Co served as financial advisor to Artémis, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP served as legal counsel. Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to TPG. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as legal counsel to Temasek.
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