Liberty Media eyes CAA investment

UNITED STATES               

Media and entertainment conglomerate Liberty Media Corporation is reportedly in talks to acquire a stake in Creative Artists Agency (CAA), according to the UK’s Financial Time (FT) newspaper.

Liberty owns racing brand Formula 1, 71 per cent of multimedia platform SiriusXM and 34 per cent of Live Nation Entertainment, while CAA has more than 3,000 clients across film, sport and music, including Ed Sheeran, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga.

Private equity firm TPG, which has a 60 per cent stake in CAA, is not involved in the discussions, according to the FT. The company took a 35 percent shareholding in CAA in 2010, when it invested about $166 million, raising its stake to a 53 per cent in 2014, an option to increase to 60 per cent.

Other investors in CAA include China’s CMC Capital Partners, which took a minority stake in 2017 to open CAA China, followed by Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund Temasek, which also took a minority interest. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Meanwhile, sports business blog JohnWallStreet.com, has suggested that Liberty is looking to offload Formula 1, which it acquired in 2016, after disappointing returns.

Neither Liberty Media or CAA responded to an Audience request for comment.