UTA will start in 2023 with some M&A.
The talent agency is expanding its presence in the publishing space, acquiring small literary agency Fletcher & Company. Founded and run by Christy Fletcher, Fletcher & Company will become part of UTA’s publishing division, based in New York.
Fletcher and UTA publishing director Byrd Leavell will both report to UTA president David Kramer and all Fletcher & Company teams will join UTA. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Fletcher & Company represents best-selling fiction and non-fiction authors such as Maggie Shipstead, Stephanie Clifford, Daniel Mason, John Carreyrou and Gretchen Rubin, among others. The company’s client list includes Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winners, recipients of the National Book Award, and a wide range of New York Times bestseller.
“Christy is an outstanding agent and business builder, and the team at Fletcher & Company are among the best in the industry, so it’s exciting to welcome them to our team,” Kramer said in a statement. UTA. “This is an important chapter in the evolution of UTA Publishers, underscoring our commitment to being the best home for authors and their works. We believe in the power of books to promote culture, and the many ways we can collaborate across UTA to bring them to life across the entire entertainment ecosystem.
The deal is the second notable literary deal for UTA in the past year. Last summer, the agency bought the British company The Curtis Brown Group.
In fact, while UTA hasn’t made any major deals like CAA’s acquisition of ICM, the agency has made a series of smaller deals over the past year, extending beyond just the publishing sector. but also in other fields. The company acquired marketing consulting firm MediaLink for $125 million and expanded its UTA IQ division with analytics firm MediaHound.
Then, last summer, UTA received a new investment from private equity firm EQT Partners. EQT, currently the company’s largest outside shareholder, is supporting UTA’s growth plans, including M&A goals.
