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Private Equity Investor EQT Takes A Stake In United Talent Agency

Private Equity Investor EQT Takes A Stake In United Talent Agency
UTA / EQT
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BEVERLY HILLS, CA (CelebrityAccess) – Leading global talent, entertainment, and sports company, United Talent Agency (UTA), and global investment organization, EQT, announced Monday (July 18) that the EQT X fund has agreed to become a strategic investor in UTA. The move recognizes UTA’s artist-first approach and recent growth trajectory and will help fuel the next phase of investments in talent, innovation, and international expansion, per the press release.

UTA partnership and leadership continue to hold the controlling interest in the company, with EQT becoming the largest outside shareholder. As part of the transaction, Investcorp, a global alternative investment firm, which invested in UTA in 2018, will sell its full stake to EQT, and EQT will also purchase a portion of existing stakes from continuing shareholders.

Co-founded in 1991 by CEO Jeremy Zimmer, UTA represents talent across a broad range of categories including TV, film, music, sports, digital media, publishing, podcasts, and more. It also provides advisory and marketing services to leading global brands. UTA has undergone a dramatic strategic expansion over the past few years, including the acquisition of top European publishing and talent agency, The Curtis Brown Group, and the purchase of MediaLink, the strategic advisory firm for entertainment and media companies. The company also acquired sports representation through its investment in Klutch Sports Group.

With this new partnership, EQT’s financial resources, expertise in capital markets, in-house digital team and global footprint will support UTA’s continued growth plans. UTA’s current roster boasts such names as: 3 Doors Down, Bo Burnham, Chris Pratt, Melissa McCarthy, Paramore, and many others.

Jeremy Zimmer, CEO of UTA, said, “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.”

Kasper Knokgaard, EQT Partner and Global Head of the Services Sector Team, said, “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.”

The transaction is expected to close later this month.

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