PE Deals

CAA completes ICM Partners acquisition, Crestview exits ICM

Crestview invested in 2019 and upon the exit, owned half the company, according to a source familiar with the deal.

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  • Allen & Company LLC served as financial advisor for CAA on the deal while Lazard served as financial advisor for ICM
  • In 2008, CAA became the first entertainment agency to found a merchant bank Evolution Media Capital
  • In 2020, CAA and venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates launched Connect Ventures, which backs early-stage consumer-focused businesses.

Creative Artists Agency, an entertainment and sports agency, has closed its previously announced buyout of ICM Partners, another talent agency. No financial terms were disclosed.

Moving forward, Crestview is exiting its investment in ICM Partners, according to a source familiar with the transaction. Crestview made its investment in 2019 and upon the exit owned half the company.

“Today marks a new chapter in the history of our company, positioning us better than ever to deliver extraordinary opportunities for many of the world’s preeminent artists, athletes, thought leaders, brands, and organizations in entertainment, sports, and culture,” said CAA’s Co-Chairmen Kevin Huvane, Bryan Lourd, and Richard Lovett, in a statement. “We are thrilled to welcome our new ICM colleagues to CAA, and look forward to combining their expertise, relationships, and resources with those of our agents and executives around the world.”

In addition to representing premier actors, directors, producers, and writers in film and television, CAA brokers financing and distribution deals, having raised $1.8 billion for more than 100 independently financed films in the past year.

In 2008, CAA became the first entertainment agency to found a merchant bank Evolution Media Capital.

In 2020, CAA and venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates launched Connect Ventures, which backs early-stage consumer-focused businesses.

Allen & Company LLC served as financial advisor for CAA, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as legal advisor.

Lazard served as financial advisor for ICM, with Sheppard Mullin and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP providing legal advice.

Founded in 2004, Crestview invests in the financial services, media, industrials, and energy sectors.