Century City talent powerhouse Creative Artists Agency bolstered its share of the sports and hospitality market by acquiring two major industry players, the agency announced Monday.
CAA has acquired New York firms Goviva and Beyond Sports & Entertainment, both of which will join Inside Sports & Entertainment Group – which CAA bought early last year – to form CAA Premium Experience.
Goviva specializes in organizing corporate events in conjunction with U.S. and international sporting events, such as the recent Pacquiao-Mayweather fight and the World Cup. Beyond Sports & Entertainment, meanwhile, assists corporate clients in organizing special events, ticket concierge services and personal celebrity appearances.
In a statement, Michael Levine, co-head of CAA Sports, said CAA Premium Experience will use the talent agency’s relationships in the sports and entertainment worlds to boost those offerings.
“We have strategically combined the creativity, innovation, and exceptional client service of the world’s most accomplished corporate hospitality executives and organizations with CAA’s unmatched resources and relationships within entertainment, sports, and pop culture to create a division that will deliver world-class VIP experiences for customers globally,” Levine said.
CAA officials were not immediately available Monday for further comment.
The move comes only a couple months after CAA rival United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills poached a dozen agents from CAA. The departures prompted CAA to file a lawsuit against UTA in Los Angeles Superior Court in April, alleging UTA launched a “lawless, midnight raid” when it stole several agents away.
Those agents took with them major clients, including Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. The lawsuit is still pending.
Meantime, CAA’s acquisition of Goviva and BSE is not the only recent move within the sports and hospitality sector of the burgeoning entertainment industry.
On Friday, Arn Tellem, a longtime sports agent at Westwood’s Wasserman Media Group, was named vice chairman of billionaire Tom Gores’ Palace Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Detroit Pistons. There, Tellem will help run the basketball team.
