CAA closes US$ 750 million agreement with ICM partners, integrating the scenario of large agencies –

In a move that unites Hollywood’s talent agency landscape into three major players, CAA has closed the acquisition of ICM Partners, the companies said.

CAA, led by Brian Lorde, Kevin Juan and Richard Lovett, and ICM, led by Chris Silberman, first announced the agreement in September, saying that “ICM is one of the best representative companies of all time.”

The closing of the deal will be followed by a lengthy review process by the Department of Justice, which investigates antitrust issues. Despite careful consideration by regulators, the purchase was ultimately closed.

The terms are well known, says the source. hollywood reporter This ICM was valued at $750 million in the transaction, which would give the United Company $5 billion in company profits. CAA says the joint venture will have 3,200 employees in 25 countries. 425 ICM employees will join the CAA and 105 are expected to be laid off.

“Today marks a new chapter in our company’s history, putting us better positioned than ever before to provide extraordinary opportunities to many of the world’s leading artists, athletes, thought leaders, brands and organizations in the entertainment, sports and entertainment industries. . culture. John said. , Lord and Lovet in a joint statement. We look forward to welcoming our new ICM colleagues to CAA and sharing their experiences, relationships and resources with our agents and executives around the world.

“Merging with a world-class agency to create an even greater representative company for our clients and colleagues is a key strategic rationale for this shift,” added Silberman and Ted Chervin of ICM in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited about our common future and we are energized by the sophisticated and innovative representation we offer our customers. This is an ideal next step for our companies.”

With ICM, CAA is intensifying competition with its acquired UTA as well as the publicly traded Endeavor, which owns WME. The deal marks the biggest talent agency acquisition since WME raised $2 billion in 2014 from the sports and fashion hub IMG.

Within the ICM, for some, the feeling is one of relief. The agency had to weather the storm of the deal, which was stretched and stretched, experienced low morale and saw colleagues and clients abandon ship. “You’re stuck in many stages of grief and you see people going through ups and downs,” says a colleague. THR. “But right now, people are excited.” Another agency source points out that the long purchase was a distraction that would eventually disappear. “It’s been a long time,” the man sighed.

The merger with ICM clients like Shonda Reims, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Chris Rock and Vince Gilligan are on the CAA list of names, including Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Scarlett Johansson and Henry. Golden.

When the CAA-ICM deal was first announced, the agencies said that ICM’s book division could be combined with CAA’s film and television, giving the combined company a competitive advantage. And ICM’s UK-based Stellar Sports division, acquired in October 2020, further develops CAA’s sports representation space.

But consolidation also raises new questions. For starters, this will likely lead to corporate “synergies”, which often means firing certain departments. It is likely that some agents seek greener pastures elsewhere, while talented boutique agencies may try to merge as agents and clients to deal with stealth hunting, some of them, including agents representing John Senna, John Kusak, John Wu and others. He left ICM before the merger was considered.

The two agencies, which are neighbors in Century City, will merge the office space “as time permits,” Lovet previously said. THR. CAA signed a new lease for its current “Death Star” office building last July, but the agency plans to move to a 37-story office tower by 2026.

Hollywood, like other industries, has consolidated as tech giants have invaded the space spending huge sums of money to expand their infrastructure and streaming offerings.

Traditional and old-fashioned media companies struggled with the rise of Apple and Amazon. AT&T’s Discovery and WarnerMedia officially closed a $43 billion mega-merger in April to create monolithic entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery. Discovery CEO David Zaslav positions the deal as an opportunity to challenge Disney and Netflix in streaming.

During record consolidation in virtually every industry, larger companies like CAA and Amazon won over smaller competitors who found themselves vulnerable. (CAA competitor UTA was also eyeing acquisitions, only to be acquired in June by savvy and talented British agency Curtis Brown Group and data firm Mediahound.)

The merger also comes after TPG, the private equity giant with a majority stake in CAA, continued its difficult months, which were disclosed in an IPO in January. (Its rival Endeavor, run by Ari Emanuel, went public in April last year.) TPG shares have dropped 30 percent since its initial public offering. Meanwhile, rumors continue to circulate that CAA will emerge as its own public company, although such a move is not in sight.

Endeavor, which owns the WME and UFC, among other businesses, currently has a market capitalization of approximately $10 billion.

Since the agreement with ICM was first announced last year, CAA has taken several additional steps to strengthen its business. In April, the agency acquired full ownership of CAA-GBG Global Brand Management Group, a joint venture formed in 2016, and renamed it CAA Brand Management, giving the agency a direct role in managing the company’s expansion. brand and licensing programs for customers like Coca Cola. . Budweiser and Netflix.

Hollywood unions were skeptical of the agency’s consolidation. While the Writers Guild of the American West said nothing publicly about the proposed deal before the shutdown, the Writers Union has stepped up resistance to mega-associations in general over the past year.

In December 2021, the Writers Guild released a report detailing the “broken promises” and “failures” caused by the recent media merger, and in April, WGA West board member Adam Conover spoke at a hearing with Federal Trade Commission and the Department. of Justice. g word The creator said the mega-union “has done great harm” to entertainment workers. This year the union spoke out against Amazon against acquiring Studio MGM and a source said THR That Grêmio was worried about the agreement of the talent agency CAA-ICM.

“The diversity of our clients that captivates and inspires a large global audience has never been in greater demand, nor has its capabilities been greater,” said Juan, Lord and Lovet in a joint statement. “Today, with the addition of our new colleagues, the scope of opportunities to help achieve customer goals is limitless.

Allen & Company LLC acted as financial advisor to CAA, with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz serving as legal advisors, while Lazard acted as financial advisor to ICM and Sheppard Mullin and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as legal advisors.

Boris Keith, Winston Chom and Katie Kilken contributed to the report.