Formula One owner Liberty Media is in talks to invest in Creative Artists Agency, the entertainment and sports group that represents stars from Lady Gaga to Cristiano Ronaldo, according to people briefed on the discussions.
CAA is one of Hollywood’s most powerful entertainment agencies and has the industry’s largest sports representation business with top stars from the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball on its books. It also advises on sports media and commercial deals.
Liberty Media’s interest in a representation powerhouse points to a convergence between rights holders, distribution channels and talent and is indicative of other shifts in the media sector.
An investment in CAA would give Liberty greater negotiating leverage for its other businesses — namely Formula One. It knows CAA well, having hired the agency to sell its sponsorship rights after Liberty Media bought the motorsport in 2017.
Liberty Media is run by Greg Maffei, the right-hand man of its billionaire chairman John Malone. Mr Maffei is the main architect of a strategy that has seen Liberty assemble a portfolio of media, sports and cable assets, including baseball’s Atlanta Braves, SiriusXM satellite radio and LiveNation Entertainment, the concert booking and ticketing group.
CAA is controlled by TPG, the private equity firm, which has a stake of more than 60 per cent but has not been involved in the CAA-Liberty Media discussions, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. Two people briefed on the negotiations cautioned that there was no guarantee they would lead to a deal.
A TPG spokesman said it received regular approaches about its investments but that it was not in “active discussions” regarding the CAA stake. CAA and Liberty Media declined to comment.
It is unclear if Liberty wants to buy all of CAA but its record suggests the acquisition of a substantial stake would be more likely. It tends to invest in businesses rather than buy them outright, seeking control and influence by using leverage, board presence and complex, tax-driven dealmaking.
CAA has added other external shareholders in recent years, selling minority stakes to Temasek, the Singapore-based investment fund, and China’s CMC Capital Partners. Prices were not disclosed but when TPG increased its stake in CAA four years ago the deal valued the agency at more than $1bn.
Endeavor, a big CAA rival in Hollywood talent and sports representation, has diversified into other entertainment properties, acquiring Ultimate Fighting Championship and Professional Bull Riders, as well as the Frieze art fair and IMG, the sports marketing and fashion group.
CAA is run by managing partners Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane and the agency’s president Richard Lovett. It was founded in 1975 by a group of talent agents that included Michael Ovitz and Ron Meyer, which built it into Hollywood’s dominant agency.
The management team that succeeded them in 1995 included Messrs Lourd, Huvane and Lovett: they diversified the company into sports representation, brand consulting, licensing and investment banking.
Today its client roster includes Hollywood A-listers such as Brad Pitt and George Clooney, as well as NFL stars like Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.
Liberty Media’s controlling shareholder is Mr Malone, the Colorado-based media and telecoms billionaire known as the “Cable Cowboy” for his audacious dealmaking. The company is focused on the US and is unrelated to Liberty Global, the European cable and telecoms group also controlled by Mr Malone — and which owns a portfolio of companies including Virgin Media in the UK.
