CAA Forms Sports-Focused Investment Bank In Continued Expansion Push

November 13, 2023

In one of the first major moves since being acquired in September by French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault in a $7 billion deal, Creative Artists Agency is forming a new sports-focused investment bank in partnership with dealmaker Michael Klein.

CAA’s merchant bank Evolution Media Capital is working with M. Klein & Company to create CAA Evolution, a new investment bank and advisory firm targeting the global sports, media, and entertainment industries.

The new entity will work on deals such as multibillion-dollar team sales and media company maneuvers, as well as advise on capital raising such as initial public offerings — areas previously considered largely outside the scope of CAA and Evolution Media Capital. The move pushes the agency into the kind of large-scale deal financing and advising that has been the province of firms such as the Raine Group and LionTree. FOS