A day after CAA clinched a deal to acquire ICM Partners, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel told an industry crowd on Tuesday that he considered an ICM acquisition more than a decade ago, before Endeavor pulled off its acquisition of William Morris Agency.
Emanuel weighed in on the big news in Hollywood during his long-scheduled Q&A at the Recode conference in Beverly Hills. He dismissed the idea of UTA as an acquisition target for Endeavor and he took a swipe at CAA for engaging in a Scarlett Johansson’s high-profile lawsuit against Disney.
“I appreciate them validating my strategy in ’08,” Emanuel said of CAA’s acquisition during the wide-ranging interview with Recode executive editor Kara Swisher. “They’re just coming at it 13 years late.”
When Swisher pressed him on the prospect that Endeavor would try to buy UTA, Emanuel flatly replied, “We don’t need it.”
Emanuel weighed in on the state of WME, which he asserted has seen “double-digit” growth for the past 10 years, the future of the movie business and Endeavor’s work to help clients leverage their own celebrity and social media platforms.
Swisher inquired about Endeavor’s growth as an entity larger than WME, Professional Bull Riders, IMG, and other businesses. She pressed Emanuel on how WME clients benefit from Endeavor’s extensions. Emanuel’s response include a snarky dig at CAA and its most vocal leader, managing director Bryan Lourd.
Emanuel said that Endeavor companies benefit from the larger enterprise being in business with media giants on a bigger level, such as PBR’s licensing pact with CBS and UFC’s megabucks long-term deal with ESPN.
“You have so much business with that company that it gives you leverage,” Emanuel added. “As opposed to not having leverage and therefore suing. We negotiate deals for our clients and make them a lot of money. Certain people decide they just want to sue people. I’m not sure that’s the job that they were hired for.”
Emanuel cited Dwayne Johnson and Michael B. Jordan as clients that benefited from Endeavor’s reach. Endeavor helped Jordan create an ad agency. Endeavor assisted Johnson in financing his investment in the XFL Football League, which he purchased after he was discharged from bankruptcy.
“We want to be not only in the representation business but in the ownership business,” He said. “We don’t stand still.”
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