CAA sells majority stake in Artemis from Francois-Henri Pinault

French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency. Through his family investment company Artemis, Pinault is replacing private equity player TPG as the primary owner of one of Hollywood’s largest talent agencies.

CAA, a diversified shop that makes deals on behalf of clients ranging from Tom Crusie to the best-selling children’s toy Squishmallows, joins Artemis’ $40 billion portfolio of assets, which includes Kering (the luxury goods group that owns names like Gucci and Saint Laurent leads) and Christie’s own auction house and winery Château Latour. The transaction, which has not yet been completed, will value CAA at $7 billion.

The agency’s ruling triumvirate of Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett have all committed to staying at the helm, although terms were not immediately disclosed, it said in a formal announcement Thursday. Lourd will be appointed CEO upon completion of the Artemis transaction. A timetable for this has not been set. Jim Burtson, who led the CAA deal team, remains president of CAA.

“Artémis is a strategic investor at the highest level with global reach and resources across countless areas of interest for our clients, a deep understanding of global brands and how to support them to grow, and a passion for creativity and innovation that matches ours and that of our clients,” said Lourd, Lovett, Huvane and Burtson in a joint statement praising Pinault and his team leaders Héloïse Temple-Boyer and Alban Greget. “We are enormously grateful to TPG for their strategic expertise, invaluable support and friendship over 13 years. We have enjoyed tremendous growth and success together and look forward to continuing to work together on future projects.”

Rumors of the share sale emerged earlier this year, with talks officially getting underway in mid-July. Singapore-based investment firm Temasek remains a minority investor in CAA. CMC Capital remains a strategic partner of CAA.

Jim Coulter, TPG’s chief executive, said that was the case “It is a privilege to partner with CAA at one of the most exciting times of innovation and transformation in the media and entertainment industry. CAA has dramatically expanded its platform over the last 13 years and now serves as a premier gateway for leading talent and content creators worldwide. This has been an outstanding partnership for our company and we wish the team continued success in the next chapter.”