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French tycoon’s firm secures majority stake in CAA

Francois-Henri Pinault’s Artémis has completed its rumoured deal for the leading sports and entertainment agency

By James Hanley on 07 Sep 2023

Francois-Henri Pinault


image © S. Plaine

Artémis, an investment firm led by billionaire French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault, has acquired TPG’s majority stake in Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Financial details have not been disclosed but Bloomberg previously reported the deal would value the leading sports and entertainment agency at US$7 billion (€6.2bn). Private equity company TPG upped its 35% stake in CAA to 53% for a reported $225 million in 2014.

CAA’s Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane, and Richard Lovett will remain co-chairs in the wake of the agreement, with Lourd expected to be named CEO and Jim Burtson to continue as president.

Pinault is chairman and CEO of Paris-headquartered luxury goods company Kering, owner of brands such as Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. He has been president of Groupe Artémis – the Pinault family’s investment company – since 2003.

“Artémis is a strategic investor of the highest order”

“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,” says a joint statement from Lourd, Lovett, Huvane and Burtson.

Founded in 1975, CAA is headquartered in Los Angeles, and has offices in New York, Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, Miami, London, Munich, Geneva, Stockholm, Shanghai and Beijing, among other locations.

“François-Henri Pinault and his remarkable team, led by Héloïse Temple-Boyer and Alban Greget, share our vision for a future of limitless new opportunities,” adds the statement. “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.”

Singapore-based global investment vehicle Temasek remains a minority owner, with CMC Capital remaining a strategic partner.

CAA consolidated its position at the forefront of the international live music agency landscape last year with its acquisition of ICM Partners

CAA consolidated its position at the forefront of the international live music agency landscape last year with its acquisition of ICM Partners (ICM), in a move valued at $750 million by Hollywood Reporter. The agreement was said to be the largest talent agency transaction since WME acquired IMG in 2014.

The company’s music clients include the likes of Harry Styles, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Florence + The Machine, Dermot Kennedy, Sam Smith, Kylie Minogue, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lorde, Green Day, Muse, Sam Fender, Haim, The Black Keys and Paramore, while its acting clients include Tom Cruise and Pinault’s wife Salma Hayek.

The agency sector has been largely consolidated by just four companies – CAA, Wasserman, UTA and WME – although US-based talent agencies APA and Artist Group International merged to form Independent Artist Group earlier this summer, while the UK’s Primary Talent International, which was sold to ICM Partners in 2020, returned to independence in March following a management buyout.

 


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