UTA expands globally, acquires The Agency Group
The globe’s largest independent music agency has officially announced its acquisition by one of the US’ top five agencies United Talent Agency (UTA).
The Agency Group (TAG) will be added to UTA’s music division, bringing more than 2,000 acts including our own Vance Joy, The Jezebels, The Cat Empire, Meg Mac, Boy & Bear, Violent Soho and Airbourne to join UTA’s existing clients including Mariah Carey, T.I, Ice Cube and Kanye West.
Advised by LA Skadden Arps partner David C. Eisman, the deal opens UTA’s reach beyond its offices in LA and New York; TAG has 95 agents across offices in London, LA, Miami, Nashville, New York, Toronto and Sweden.
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TAG CEO Gavin O’Reilly is exiting and Neil Warnock, who founded TAG 35 years ago and is now its President,will be UTA’s head of worldwide music.
UTA chief Jeremy Zimmer and Managing Directors David Kramer and Jay Sures said in a joint statement: “Neil and his team love music and love their clients. They care deeply about being able to provide full-service representation, which is a desire that perfectly reflects our values.”
The Agency Group founder and president Neil Warnock said, “We are thrilled to become a part of UTA. This is a major value-add for our clients, utilizing their scale and complementary resources to bring new and exciting business opportunities for all of our artists.”
ValueAct Capital Management founder/CEOJeffrey Ubbenhelped finance the deal. Through a personal minority investment inUTA, the hedge fund manager joins the board as a non-voting member and becomes its first non-agency shareholder. Through ValueAct Ubben has invested in Microsoft, 21stCentury Fox and Adobe.
Jeremy Zimmer said:"I’ve known Jeff for several years, and I really believe that he will be a valuable resource for UTA.Unlike a more traditional private equity investment, we have taken apersonal, long-term investment from a thoughtful and capable executive.We are lucky to have him on the UTA team.”
UTA has had a fast-paced 12 months; in 2014 it bought news and reality TV talent agency Bienstock, it launched UTA Fine Arts to expand into contemporary arts as well as UTA Brand Studio for brand strategies, and created UTA Venture Fund top invest in start-ups.
UTA's acquired clients now have access to its resourcesacross digital content platforms, motion pictures, television, online entertainment, video gaming, books, branding, licensing and speaking engagements.