CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Monroe Capital LLC (“Monroe”) announced it acted as sole lead arranger and administrative agent on the funding of a senior credit facility to support the acquisition of You First by The Gersh Agency, Inc. (“Gersh”), a portfolio company of Crestview Partners.
Founded in 1949 and based in Beverly Hills, CA, Gersh is a full-service talent agency that represents a leading roster of actors, writers, directors, comedians and other entertainment professionals in television, film, theatrical performances, and live events. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Madrid, Spain, You First is a sports representation agency with additional capabilities within branding, podcasting, production, and alternative media. It represents a roster of over 1000 athletes across offices in Europe, North America, and South America. With the acquisition of You First, Gersh doubles its size to over 600 employees, establishes a global footprint with 22 offices in 14 countries, and positions itself as a player in worldwide sports representation.
This transaction is representative of Monroe’s Sports, Media & Entertainment Finance Vertical, which provides financing solutions for media and entertainment companies in film and television, music, representation, traditional media, digital, live entertainment, and adjacent businesses. Monroe also provides financing solutions for sports companies including clubs/teams, service providers to the sports ecosystem, venues, ticketing businesses, hospitality businesses, and B2B with sports end markets.
About Monroe Capital
Monroe Capital LLC (including its subsidiaries and affiliates, together “Monroe”) is a premier asset management firm specializing in private credit markets across various strategies, including direct lending, technology finance, venture debt, alternative credit solutions, structured credit, real estate, and equity. Since 2004, the firm has been successfully providing capital solutions to clients in the U.S. and Canada. Monroe prides itself on being a value-added and user-friendly partner to business owners, management, and both private equity and independent sponsors. Monroe’s platform offers a wide variety of investment products for both institutional and high net worth investors with a focus on generating high quality “alpha” returns irrespective of business or economic cycles. The firm is headquartered in Chicago and maintains 10 offices throughout the United States and Asia.
Monroe has been recognized by both its peers and investors with various awards including Inc.’s 2024 Founder-Friendly Investors List; Private Debt Investor as the 2023 Lower Mid-Market Lender of the Decade, 2023 Lower Mid-Market Lender of the Year, 2023 CLO Manager of the Year, Americas; Global M&A Network as the 2023 Lower Mid-Markets Lender of the Year, U.S.A.; DealCatalyst as the 2022 Best CLO Manager of the Year; Korean Economic Daily as the 2022 Best Performance in Private Debt – Mid Cap; Creditflux as the 2021 Best U.S. Direct Lending Fund; and Pension Bridge as the 2020 Private Credit Strategy of the Year. For more information and important disclaimers, please visit www.monroecap.com.
