Announces First Investment in Leading Hollywood Management Company Untitled Entertainment
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 28, 2024--
TPG (NASDAQ: TPG), a leading global alternative asset management firm, today announced the formation of a new company (the “Company”) that will acquire, invest behind, and build a diversified global business centered on talent management, representation, and adjacent verticals. Michel Pratte, former President of Boat Rocker Media ("Boat Rocker”), has been named CEO of the newly established Company and Eric Taitz, former EVP of Corporate Development and Strategy at Boat Rocker will serve as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer. In tandem with this announcement, the Company is making its first investment into Untitled Entertainment (“Untitled”), a leading Hollywood talent management business with a 25-year track record representing many of the entertainment industry’s most successful and celebrated talent.
Untitled’s Founding Partners, Jason Weinberg and Stephanie Simon will each roll a significant financial interest into the new entity alongside Untitled’s current majority owner, Boat Rocker. Weinberg and Simon will continue as Co-CEOs and Partners leading Untitled.
“We see an opportunity to leverage TPG’s longstanding experience partnering with leading players in the space to create a talent representation company with the resources and capabilities to benefit managers and the talent they serve,” said Jacqui Hawwa, a Business Unit Partner at TPG Growth. “Untitled has a strong reputation within the entertainment industry and an impressive roster of clients. Their team is an ideal first partner and we see a significant opportunity to scale the Company and ultimately collaborate across multiple complementary talent verticals with subsequent investments. Together with Michel, Jason, and Stephanie we have the right team in place to build an industry-leading company.”
“As the broader entertainment industry continues to evolve, a more complex landscape means more opportunities than ever for ambitious talent and their representatives,” said Pratte. “The future of representation increasingly requires relentless proactivity combined with access to world class tools that drive innovation and growth. This new Company will empower Untitled and a future group of complementary talent-centric businesses to harness the extraordinary talents of diverse clients on their journey to achieving their highest career ambitions. I look forward to building this Company with TPG, continuing my fifteen-plus year relationship with Boat Rocker, and working even more closely with Jason, Stephanie, Untitled Partners Evan Hainey, Elise Konialian, Jennifer Levine, Jason Newman, Alissa Vradenburg, and the entire Untitled team.”
“The teams at TPG and Boat Rocker share our belief that scaled offerings are the future of talent management and together, we are focused on building a management and representation business with expanded resources for managers and their clients,” said Weinberg and Simon. “With a broader ecosystem of relationships, shared services departments, better client management tools, and new avenues for collaboration, this partnership ushers in a new chapter for Untitled while maintaining the culture and mission that has guided us for many years. We are excited to build on Untitled’s strong momentum and for the many opportunities ahead.”
TPG has significant experience investing across the entertainment, talent management, media, and music industries, with investments including Calm, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), DirecTV, Entertainment Partners, Fandom, Musixmatch, and Spotify.
TPG Growth, the middle market and growth equity platform of TPG, is funding the investment.
Latham & Watkins LLP and Blakes, Cassels & Graydon LLP served as legal counsel to TPG. Venable LLP served as legal advisors to Jason Weinberg and Stephanie Simon. LionTree Advisors acted as financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP served as legal advisors to Boat Rocker.
About TPG
TPG is a leading global alternative asset management firm, founded in San Francisco in 1992, with $224 billion of assets under management and investment and operational teams around the world. TPG invests across a broadly diversified set of strategies, including private equity, impact, credit, real estate, and market solutions, and our unique strategy is driven by collaboration, innovation and inclusion. Our teams combine deep product and sector experience with broad capabilities and expertise to develop differentiated insights and add value for our fund investors, portfolio companies, management teams, and communities. For more information, visit www.tpg.com.
About Untitled Entertainment
Untitled Entertainment is a leading Hollywood talent management company with a 25-year track record representing many of the entertainment industry’s most successful and celebrated talent, working in all areas of the industry including film, TV, theater, fashion, digital media, and music.
About Boat Rocker
Boat Rocker (TSX: BRMI) is the home for creative visionaries. An independent, integrated global entertainment company, Boat Rocker’s purpose is to tell stories and build iconic brands across all genres and mediums. With offices around the world, Boat Rocker's creative and commercial capabilities include Scripted, Unscripted, and Kids and Family television production, distribution, brand & franchise management, a world-class animation studio, and talent management through a minority stake in a new company launched by TPG. A selection of Boat Rocker's projects include: Invasion (Apple TV+), Palm Royale (Apple TV+), Orphan Black: Echoes (AMC), American Rust: Broken Justice (Prime Video), Beacon 23 (MGM+), Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Hulu), Downey's Dream Cars (Max), BS High (HBO), Orphan Black (BBC AMERICA, CTV Sci-Fi Channel), Dear…(Apple TV+), Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry (Apple TV+), The Next Step (BBC, Corus, CBC), Daniel Spellbound (Netflix), and Dino Ranch (Disney+, Disney Junior, CBC). For more information, please visit www.boatrocker.com.
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TPG
Julia Sottosanti
media@tpg.com
Source: TPG
