CAA ON THE BLOCK?

Francois-Henri Pinault, the French billionaire whose holdings include Chateau Latour and Gucci, is in talks to buy a majority stake in CAA, Bloomberg reports.

News of a potential sale arrives as Hollywood talent is shutting out the lights on production and actors join the writers on strike. Around since 1975, CAA could be valued as high as $7b.

CAA has the most important music-representation division in the business and is in the midst of one of the most gigantic touring seasons in history.

The Pinault family controls Kering SA, which features numerous fashion houses; via their holding company Artemis Group, they own wineries such as Clos de Tart and René Engel, and have a controlling interest in Christie’s in addition to investments in publishing, sports and tech companies.

TPG Capital bought a 35% stake in CAA in 2010 and, four years later, upped its ownership to more than 50% making it the largest shareholder. Temasek bought a minority stake in 2017.

In addition to representing musical acts and Hollywood talent, CAA has a sports business, an investment bank and venture fund, and a brand marketing services business.

One of Bloomberg’s sources said the talks “could still end without an agreement.”