United Talent Agency has secured a private equity investment by EQT, which will allow it to fuel its growth. “next phase of growth,”The announcements were made Monday by the two companies.
EQT will now be the largest outside shareholder of the company. UTA leadership and partnership will still have a controlling share in the company. Both UTA as well as EQT are keen to expand and invest in talent, innovation, and international expansion.
Investcorp is a global alternative investment company that made investments in UTA in 2018. It will sell its majority stake to EQT. EQT also will purchase a portion existing stakes from shareholders such as PSP Investments.
The new investment is expected to be financially beneficial for all employees of UTA, regardless of their tenure or level.
The transaction is expected closing later in the month.
UTA’s push for expansion comes on the heels first of the agency’s own acquisition of the UK literary and talent agency Curtis Brown Group back in June, as well as rival CAA’s acquisition of ICM Partners. UTA’s employee base has more than doubled in the last four year to 1,900.
“EQT is the perfect partner for UTA’s next phase of growth. They have deep international capabilities, a strong balance sheet, and most importantly they truly appreciate and respect the culture that we have built at UTA. David Kramer and I led this process, and we made sure to listen to our instincts about who we felt would really help us drive growth while protecting our culture. We believe that we found the right partner to maintain that balance,”Jeremy Zimmer, UTA CEO, said in a release.
“EQT invests in industry leading platforms that are well situated for strong and sustained growth across economic cycles, are aligned with our values, and where we know we can create significant value – UTA checks all the boxes. We are excited to partner with Jeremy Zimmer and the entire team to accelerate UTA’s growth trajectory and enable more opportunities across entertainment and media,”Kasper Knokgaard (EQT partner and global leader of the Services Sector Team), said.
“Our investment in UTA was highly successful and we are proud to have partnered with the UTA team as they achieved exceptional growth over the past four years. The company has strengthened its position as a market leader and we wish the team and EQT continued success,” Dave Tayeh, head of Private Equity – North America at Investcorp, said.
“Since our original investment in 2018, PSP Investments and Investcorp have been working closely with Jeremy Zimmer and his management team to continue to strengthen UTA’s exceptional market position. During this time, UTA has proven its abilities to perform, innovate and diversify as a leading entertainment company. We are excited to continue this journey with UTA and to welcome EQT. Together, we will be a driving force in supporting UTA’s long-term growth,”Martin Longchamps, PSP Investments’ managing director and head, Origination and Execution, stated.
EQT, a global investment company with EUR 77 Billion in assets under management across 36 funds, is a global organization. The EQT funds manage portfolio companies in Europe and Asia-Pacific, as well as the Americas. They have more than 280,000 employees and a total of EUR 29 billion in sales.
UTA was advised by Moelis & Company (exclusive financial advisor) and Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (legal). EQT Private Equity was advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges (legal) and Bain & Company (commercial).
