EXCLUSIVE UPDATED : Private equity firm TPG has revealed the name of the talent management-centric company it launched in June in conjunction with acquiring a majority stake in Untitled Entertainment. Named Initial Group, the subsidiary has made a second investment, completing the long-rumored acquisition of literary management firm Grandview. It will be combined under the banner of the larger, actor-focused Untitled, significantly bolstering its lit representation capabilities.
TPG Back In Talent Management Game, Acquires Majority Stake In Untitled Entertainment
Jeff Silver and Matt Rosen, who co-founded Grandview, have been named Managing Partners of the combined company, joining Untitled’s founding partners Jason Weinberg and Stephanie Simon.
Additionally, Grandview’s Merideth Bajana, Jeremy Platt, and Ben Rowe will be joining the Untitled partner ranks that include Evan Hainey, Elise Konialian, Jennifer Levine, Jason Newman, recently promoted Steven Nossokoff, and Alissa Vradenburg.
TPG, which a year ago sold its majority stake in CAA, in June acquired the Untitled majority stake from Canada-based Boat Rocker and formed a new company — now named Initial Group — with the goal to “acquire, invest behind, and build a diversified global business centered on talent management, representation, and adjacent verticals.” Boat Rocker Media president Michel Pratte was named CEO of the new platform.
“Today’s announcement underscores the strength of our growing platform and our ability to attract the
most visionary representatives in the entertainment industry,” said Pratte, Initial Group CEO. “In
partnership with TPG and Jason, Stephanie, and the entire Untitled team, I am excited to welcome Matt,
Jeff, and the Grandview family to the Initial Group.”
The Grandview transaction follows months of talks as the Untitled leadership, TPG and Pratte engaged with multiple management companies before zeroing in on Grandview. More M&A is likely as TPG is looking to bulk up Initial Group the way the firm did with CAA during its 13-year ownership.
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“In partnering with TPG and Michel earlier this year, we identified an opportunity that will allow us to
expand our client offerings and develop new avenues for collaboration,” Weinberg and Simon said. “In
Matt and Jeff, we found industry leaders in literary management, combined with a robust and exciting
culture that they have fostered and that has attracted some of the most forward-thinking
representatives over the past decade. We are excited to collaborate with the entire Grandview team
and client roster in the years ahead.”
Grandview had explored a sale on and off for several years. The company and its independently-run sister production company Automatik held conversations with multiple companies that resulted in Automatik merging with Range Media Partners last year while Grandview remained a freestanding representation company until now.
Its roster of writers and directors includes such top names as Joseph Kosinski, Ryan Condal, Hiro Murai, Osgood Perkins, Jeremy Saulnier, Justin Simien, Dan Trachtenberg, Parker Finn, Lauren Lefranc, Molly Smith Metzler, Adam Wingard, Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson, Michael Waldron, Jim Mickle, Jake Schreier and Christy Hall. They will join Untitled’s extensive client list that includes film/TV stars Naomi Watts, Laura Dern, Dakota Johnson, Zoë Kravitz, Maya Hawke, new Superman David Corenswet, Penélope Cruz, Jean Smart, Sam Rockwell, Jane Fonda, Kate Hudson, Connie Britton, Suki Waterhouse, Liev Schreiber, Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Lange, Dominic Sessa, Emma Myers, Hunter Schafer, Rhea Seehorn, Uma Thurman, Taylor Kitsch, Rosario Dawson, Orlando Bloom Steven Caple Jr. and Ernest Dickerson.
“Ten years ago, we started Grandview to build a home for artists and those who represent them,”
Silver and Rosen said. “We are incredibly proud of the culture that we’ve created, the support we’ve
received from the community, and the storytellers that we’ve worked with – the leading voices of their
generation. Our guiding principles have always been Talent, Ambition, and Character. Jason and
Stephanie have built Untitled from these shared ideals, and their commitment to their clients and
colleagues is inspiring. We are so excited to be joining forces with them, alongside Michel and Eric Taitz,
who are wonderful champions of artists, and who will continue to be outstanding architects of Initial
Group.”
Latham & Watkins served as legal counsel to Initial Group. Eisner and Venable served as legal
advisor to Grandview. LionTree Advisors acted as financial advisor to Grandview.
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