On September 7, Artémis, the holding company of French billionaire and businessman François Pinault, agreed to purchase a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency, a major Hollywood talent agency, from private equity firm TPG.
Artémis will add CAA to its portfolio, which includes assets such as luxury brands Gucci and Alexander McQueen. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but information previously reported by Bloomberg valued the transaction at approximately $7 billion by Pinault.
Founded in 1975, CAA is an agency that represents top celebrities in a variety of fields, including sports, film, television, music, digital media, and marketing. Meanwhile, Artémis has more than $40 billion in consolidated assets, from Kering, a luxury conglomerate with numerous luxury brands, to auction house Christie’s, the contemporary art Pinault Collection, and Artémis Domaines, which includes a collection of wine estates such as Château Latour.
Under the agreement, CAA co-chairs Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane, and Richard Lovett have each made a long-term commitment to continue to lead CAA and remain co-chairs. Upon completion of the transaction, Lourd will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer. Jim Burtson, who led the deal team at CAA, will continue as president.
“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,” CAA’s Lourd, Lovett, Huvane, and Burtson said in a statement.
Pinault, chairman of fashion giant Kering, has assets of more than $38 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Temasek Holdings Pte, a Singapore-based investment firm, remains a minority shareholder in CAA, while CMC Capital will maintain its position as a strategic partner of CAA.