The talent and literary agency Innovative Artists is raising outside cash for the first time.
The agency, led by founder and CEO Scott Harris, has raised an undisclosed amount from the private equity firm Coral Tree Partners, led by partner Will Wynperle, which invests in media and entertainment companies. It is the first time in Innovative’s 42-year history that it has taken on an outside strategic partner.
Innovative says that the funding will “provide the agency with additional resources to further the company’s growth opportunities and expansion.” Harris and his team will continue to lead the agency.
The firm was launched by Harris and Howard Goldberg in 1982 as Harris & Goldberg, and rebranded as Innovative Artists in 1992 in connection to an expansion to New York.
Innovative represents talent across the entertainment spectrum, from actor and comics to writers and voiceover artists. The deal comes at an interesting time for the agency business and Hollywood writ large.
Endeavor went private earlier this week after four years on the public markets, while CAA, which had been private equity-owned, sold to Artémis, the investment firm controlled by François-Henri Pinault, the CEO of fashion firm Kering and the billionaire scion of a French luxury goods fortune. UTA, meanwhile, also recently raised private equity funding and saw its co-founder and CEO Jeremy Zimmer step aside.
Hollywood is grappling with an entertainment contraction, even as other areas like sports and the creator economy boom. The agencies are adapting accordingly.
“I have been proud to lead our agency through these decades as a competitive, independent talent agency,” Harris said in a statement. “We have always navigated the ever-evolving entertainment business, whether against the backdrop of a pandemic, multiple work stoppages, or the technological and creative progress of our industry. Our partnership with Will and the team at Coral Tree represents the next step in enabling us to continue to grow with maximum momentum and invigoration, while continuing to focus on our core mission of providing exceptional client service.”
“We are grateful to be entering into a true strategic relationship with Innovative at the agency’s exciting growth stage,” Wynperle added. “We have long admired Innovative’s unwavering commitment to client representation and are grateful to partner closely with Scott and the agency’s senior management team. Together, we look forward to driving growth while keeping the focus on client representation first and foremost with an eye on 360-degree client service. At this time of unprecedented demand for premium content, Innovative is uniquely poised for long-term success.”
Innovative Artists Entertainment was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Sheppard Mullin. Coral Tree was advised by Kirkland & Ellis.