Billionaire investor Ron Burkle is merging his Artist Group International, which represents music stars, with Agency for the Performing Arts, a Hollywood talent agency, to form a new management company for entertainers.
(Bloomberg) — Billionaire investor Ron Burkle is merging his Artist Group International, which represents music stars, with Agency for the Performing Arts, a Hollywood talent agency, to form a new management company for entertainers.
Independent Artist Group, as the new business will be called, will be led by Jim Osborne, the president of APA. Artist Group founder Dennis Arfa will lead the music division.
Artist Group handles tours for music superstars such as Billy Joel and Metallica. APA represents actors, including Gary Oldman; writers, such as Margaret Atwood; as well as musicians, like Mary J. Blige.
Burkle, who made his fortune in leveraged buyouts of supermarket chains, has owned Artist Group since 2012. He established a financing relationship with APA three years ago.
The Hollywood writers strike, which began in May, has forced many talent agencies to cut back on spending. Merger talks between the two companies started before that, however.
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