LOS ANGELES & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading entertainment and sports firm Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and global private investment firm TPG announced today that TPG has agreed to increase its investment in CAA to a majority position. The move deepens the successful relationship between the strategic partners and provides additional capital and resources for continued growth.
CAA’s management team will extend long-term contracts. In a statement, the firm said, “We are excited about expanding the ways we serve clients and taking advantage of countless new opportunities as technology, content, brands, sports and media converge. TPG is an invaluable partner in the ongoing execution of our plan, providing their vast business-building expertise, unparalleled global network, and ready access to capital for further growth. With TPG’s increased investment in our vision, we have never been more inspired by the possibilities that lie ahead.”
“There’s nothing like CAA,” said TPG co-founder Jim Coulter, whose firm has $66 billion of capital under management and initially invested in CAA in 2010. “CAA is an unrivaled industry leader, with an exceptionally talented and uncommonly stable management team. They have built their global and diversified platform through relentless innovation and a collaborative culture of client service. The Company has had extraordinary growth across its divisions, alongside intelligent asset-building and principal investment strategies, and we are enthusiastic about the continued success ahead.”
Long recognized for its unmatched client roster of the world’s premier artists, athletes, and blue-chip brands, and its category leadership in packaging television and film content, and live experiences, the firm has also been the trailblazer of the agency business. CAA was the first to build a sports business, create an investment bank, launch a venture fund, found technology start-up companies, establish a presence in China and India, create a brand marketing services arm, and start a successful private equity vehicle, among other industry innovations.
CAA Sports has become the dominant athlete representation firm in the world, with more than double the on-field contract value of the next closest agency. Its more than 1,000 individual athlete, broadcaster and coaching clients include soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo and NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony. The firm’s sports business also includes more than $3 billion in precedent-setting property sales deals for clients including Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, and FC Barcelona, among others. The sports division also advises corporate brands, including JP Morgan Chase and Emirates Airline, among others, on their sponsorship and activation efforts. Through Switzerland-based affiliate CAA Eleven, the firm manages the centralized broadcast, digital and sponsorship rights for more than 560 premier National Team Football matches in every region of the globe, on behalf of UEFA, European football’s governing body. CAA, in partnership with its affiliate investment bank Evolution Media Capital (EMC), which advises on transactions focused on the media and sports industries, has brokered billions of dollars in transactions for clients including the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Pacific-12 Conference, and the NHL.
EMC also represents the buyers or sellers of numerous professional sports franchises; raises capital or structured debt financing for entertainment entities; and manages Evolution Media Partners (EMP), alongside TPG Growth and Participant Media.
Through its various strategic marketing and consulting practices, CAA advises blue-chip consumer brands, including Coca-Cola, General Motors, Chipotle, Diageo, Farmers Insurance, and IMAX.
The terms of the investment were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
UBS and LionTree Advisors served as financial advisor to CAA. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal counsel to CAA. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP served as legal counsel to TPG.
About Creative Artists Agency
Leading entertainment and sports firm Creative Artists Agency (CAA) represents many of the most successful professionals working in film, television, music, sports, video games, theatre, and the Internet, and provides a range of strategic marketing and consulting services to corporate clients. Headquartered in Los Angeles, CAA has key offices in London, New York, Nashville, Beijing, and Switzerland.
About CAA Sports
CAA Sports represents more than 1,000 of the world’s top athletes and professionals in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, golf, action sports, coaching and broadcasting, and advises many sports organizations and brands on sponsorship deals, venue marketing partnerships, marketing, and events, in addition to financial and media rights transactions through CAA’s partnership with affiliate investment bank Evolution Media Capital. CAA Sports has employees based in numerous international territories.
For more information, please visit www.sports.caa.com.
About TPG
TPG is a leading global private investment firm founded in 1992 with $66 billion of assets under management and offices in San Francisco, Fort Worth, Austin, Dallas, Houston, New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. TPG has extensive experience with global public and private investments executed through leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, spinouts, growth investments, joint ventures and restructurings. The firm’s investments span a variety of industries including healthcare, energy, industrials, consumer/retail, technology, media & communications, software, financial services, travel, entertainment and real estate. For more information visit www.tpg.com.
