Private Equity Group TPG Acquires 35% Stake in Creative Artists Agency

Private-equity group TPG is buying about a 35% stake in Creative Artists Agency, giving the 35-year-old group more capital to expand in areas such as sports representation.

TPG, formerly known as Texas Pacific Group, is paying an undisclosed amount for its non-controlling interest in CAA. The buyout group, which manages more than $47 billion in assets, is also working with CAA to invest $500 million into a so-called pledge fund that would enable future investments, the companies said in a statement today.

Additionally, TPG co-founder Jim Coulter will join CAA's board, The New York Timesreported today, citing people familiar with the process.

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"Over its history, the company has demonstrated a consistent ability to identify nascent opportunities and expand into new markets," said David Bonderman, TPG's founding partner, in the statement. "CAA's outstanding management team has built the gold-standard franchise in their industry based on a culture of exceptional client service, and we look forward to supporting CAA at this exciting inflection point in their evolution as they look to expand their operations and services around the globe."

Founded in 1975, CAA recently partnered with the former team from Merrill Lynch's Media and Sports Structured Finance Group to create an investment bank, called Evolution Media Capital (EMC), which has funded or advised deals collectively worth more than $2 billion. Among other transactions, EMC advised a group led by baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in its successful acquisition of the Texas Rangers, and worked with Sony ATV on its $300 million debt-financing for half of the Beatles catalog, the companies said today.