CAA to acquire ICM – Variety

CAA and ICM Partners join forces in a landmark agency merger that reflects the greatest consolidation in the entertainment landscape.

The deal, if approved, would mark a shift in the Hollywood agency landscape, reducing the Big Four to the Big Three, with WME and UTA as CAA’s main competitors.

The deal unveiled Monday morning is the largest talent agency deal since WME acquired IMG in 2014 and since Endeavor partnered with William Morris Agency in 2009, which forged contemporary WME.

The prospect of the merger of CAA and ICM would bring to CAA the strength of the television literary, publishing and music department. Over the past few months, the ICM has strengthened its operations in sport, where the CAA already has a large footprint, and in television news anchors and hosts, where the CAA is not as active.

“Today’s storytellers, athletes, thought leaders and trendsetters who can move, inspire and attract large global audiences have an unprecedented opportunity and ability to achieve their goals and aspirations” , the CAA director trio of Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett said in a statement. “The strategic combination of CAA and ICM strengthens our collective resources, expertise and relationships to provide even more opportunities for our world-class clients to build their careers and brands across multiple disciplines and platforms in a growing market. evolution. Our strong financial position allows us to continue to develop and diversify our business, with service and representation remaining at the heart of what we do and who we are. We are fortunate to have a partner in ICM who shares our commitment to the broadest and most inclusive vision possible of what our clients and our business can accomplish together.

Many details of the transaction remain to be revealed, including how ICM’s senior executives will fit into CAA’s image. Chris Silbermann, Director of ICM Partners, will join CAA’s Board of Directors. There is also no word on the financial details of the deal yet.

“We are delighted to partner and combine our strengths with the talented CAA team,” said Silbermann. “Together, we will build on our accomplishments and our entrepreneurial spirit, and continue to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the best interests of our customers, as well as empowering new and diverse voices within the industry. “

Industry sources immediately questioned whether the consolidation would attract antitrust scrutiny from federal regulators.

The consolidation among Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies comes as no surprise. UTA almost acquired Paradigm two years ago for $ 250 million. But that was before the pandemic hit the small agency, which has since transferred its most lucrative music division to Casey Wasserman.

Agencies the size and scale of CAA and WME have direct access to top talent, but the vertically integrated network and studio operations are nonetheless so large and global in their spending reach that large agencies are feeling the pressure. pressure. Massive structural changes in the nature of television and film production, and the Writers Guild of America’s successful campaign to eliminate packaging fees have also put the brakes on agency results.

CAA and ICM have expressed a similar philosophy in recent years by focusing on issues of talent representation rather than expanding into new companies and teaming more broadly on projects and business development with clients. CAA was the first of the major Hollywood agencies to enter corporate marketing and other areas of business outside of the mainstream Hollywood film and television industry in the 1990s. But in recent years, CAA focused on entertainment and sports, fueled by private equity investments from the company which is now CAA’s majority shareholder, TPG.

ICM Partners had had its own journey through private equity. ICM acquired the powerful lighting agency Broder Kurland Chervin Silbermann in 2006 with funding from Rizvi Traverse Management. In 2012, Silbermann took control of ICM after winning an internal management battle and a handful of ICM executives bought out Rizvi Traverse, turning it into a management-owned agency. In 2019, ICM Partners received an equity investment from Crestview Partners.

CAA and ICM were formed in the same year, 1975, in the midst of another period of turmoil in the agency arena. International Creative Management was born from the merger of Creative Management Associates and International Famous Agency. CAA was started by Mike Ovitz, Ron Meyer, and a handful of other William Morris agency officials who chose to plant their own flags.