好萊塢UTA進軍音樂領域

好萊塢UTA進軍音樂領域

UTA創(chuàng)建于1991年，是好萊塢五大經紀公司中的后起之秀，由鮑爾·班尼戴克和領先藝術家（Bauer Benedek and Leading Artists agencies）兩家中型經紀公司合并而成。很多好萊塢一線明星都是UTA的客戶，其中包括約翰尼·德普、哈里森·福特、米莉·賽魯斯、科恩兄弟。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

acquisition 收購

veteran 老手

hedge fund 對沖基金

peers 同行

Hollywood talent agent UTA expands into global music business（637 words）

By Shannon Bond in New York

United Talent Agency is expanding into the global music business with the acquisition of The Agency Group of the UK,as the Hollywood agency boosts its financial firepower with an investment from ValueAct Capital's Jeffrey Ubben.

The move to raise UTA's profile comes as the fiercely competitive talent management sector is being rocked by a new round of inter-agency wars and as the broader media business is undergoing a sweeping digital shift.

The purchase of TAG,whose line-up of more than 2,000 clients includes Mariah Carey,Ringo Starr,The Black Keys and Dolly Parton,significantly increases UTA's representation of big global touring acts.

“Our desire and appetite to grow in the music business really mirrored[The Agency Group's]desire and appetite to provide a much more complete platform for their artists,” said Jeremy Zimmer,UTA chief executive.

TAG was founded in 1981 by Neil Warnock,a music industry veteran who has represented acts including the Rolling Stones,The Doors and Michael Jackson. It has expanded aggressively in recent years to represent global clients from seven offices in Britain,US,Sweden and Canada.

Mr Warnock will become UTA's head of worldwide music. Gavin O'Reilly,TAG's chief executive who joined in 2013 and who was previously chief executive of Ireland's Independent News & Media,is leaving the company.

UTA is boosting its financial muscle with a minority investment from Mr Ubben,founder of ValueAct,the US activist hedge fund that holds stakes in 21st Century Fox and Rolls-Royce.

In addition to helping fund the purchase of TAG,the investment will provide growth capital and fund strategic initiatives. Mr Ubben will join UTA's board as a non-voting member.

“We want access to somebody who really understands how businesses expand,how businesses continue to provide a smart transition for the next generation of executives,all the things that fast-growing businesses deal with,” Mr Zimmer said.

Like its larger rivals Creative Artists Agency and William Morris Endeavor,UTA has been expanding its range of services from its traditional business representing Hollywood actors,directors and writers to areas including branding,corporate marketing,digital strategy and investing.

However,Mr Zimmer said UTA's primary focus remains on representing artists and advising them on the opportunities created by new technologies and platforms.

“Where some of our colleagues are trying to diversify out of representation and get into much more broad ownership of businesses,we're really doubling down on the representation business,” he said. “We believe that representing artists,to have opportunities to connect with a fan base,that's a super powerful business to be in,whether with musicians,actors or fine artists.”

Earlier this year,UTA won 12 agents and a number of high-profile clients including Kanye West,Chris Pratt and Will Ferrell from CAA in one of the industry's largest defections in decades.

Unlike its bigger peers,UTA has not pursued private equity backing in the course of its growth. CAA's majority shareholder is TPG,and WME's recent $2.3bn purchase of IMG was backed by Silver Lake,the technology-focused private equity firm.

Mr Zimmer said UTA had looked at different ways to bring in outside financing but the company was “not comfortable with the traditional structure of private equity” investment.

“The investment from Jeff is a very different kind of investment. He's a private individual — he has no controls on the business and no rights over how we operate on a day-to-day basis. And there's no built-in exit provision that puts a ticking clock on the relationship.”

Mr Ubben is a long-time value investor who has been involved in dealmaking and overhauls at companies including Microsoft and Valeant. He played a role in Thomson's 2007 acquisition of Reuters,as the UK news and data company's second-biggest shareholder,and he served as chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia following Martha Stewart's indictment.