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Athletes First eyes M&A options

NFL player representation firm Athletes First has hired a mergers-and-acquisition specialist to identify and buy other agencies.

Athletes First, one of the largest NFL player representation firms with more than 100 player clients, has retained Paradigm Talent Agency to find acquisition targets and negotiate the agreements. Lawrence Antoine, Paradigm executive vice president, business development, will lead the effort.

“We are open to start having conversations immediately,” Antoine said. “We are looking to expand rapidly, but smartly.”

Brian Murphy, Athletes First president, said the plan to expand was part of the reason the agency sold a 33 percent minority interest to Tokyo-based advertising agency Dentsu Inc. last year. As previously reported, Dentsu acquired a third of Athletes First for $16.5 million.

Antoine would not provide a time frame for when acquisitions could be made but said Athletes First would consider agencies representing talent in all sports, and well as large and small firms.

“They are looking for like-minded agents, whether they are in football, basketball, baseball, potentially MMA,” Antoine said. “It could be golf or tennis. They are looking to expand. They are looking to further diversify.”

Athletes First could buy an agency that is not involved in talent representation but other sports-related businesses, such as marketing or consulting, Antoine added, but the first step is to expand the agency’s footprint in athlete representation. Among Athletes First’s NFL clients are the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews, Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles and free-agent cornerback Josh Norman, who joined the agency as a client last week.

Antoine would not reveal how much the company has to spend. But, he said, “they will have sufficient capital to buy — I think it’s fair to say — a large agency. Does that mean we will buy the sports division at CAA? No. Absent that, there are many boutiques across the country, and [Athletes First is] not letting size be an issue at the moment.”

“They are looking to expand. They are looking to further diversify.”

LAWRENCE ANTOINE
Paradigm Talent Agency, which has been retained to find acquisition targets and negotiate the deals

Antoine has a long-standing relationship with Athletes First since it was founded in 2001 by Murphy and CEO and NFL agent David Dunn. Prior to joining Paradigm, Antoine was vice president of mergers and acquisitions at Platinum Equity, which had been an investor in Athletes First. Antoine formerly sat on Athletes First’s board of directors when he worked at Platinum Equity.

Platinum Equity is owned by Tom Gores, while Paradigm is owned by his brother, Sam Gores. Platinum Equity divested its ownership in Athletes First in 2011 when Tom Gores bought Palace Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Detroit Pistons.

While at Paradigm, Antoine engineered multiple acquisitions for the Hollywood talent firm, including buying talent and literary agencies Genesis and Writers & Artists, as well as several music agencies, including Monterey Peninsula Artists.

Athletes First hired Paradigm as a consultant because of Antoine’s acquisition experience and his relationship with the NFL agency. “One, he knows us very well,” Murphy said. “Two, we trust him. And three, he is an expert in mergers and acquisitions.”

Murphy expects Athletes First to make at least one acquisition this year and expand into multiple sports over time.
“The ultimate goal is to expand into as many sports that make sense to build a multigenerational company,” he said. “What we envision is making our first acquisition, at a minimum, this year. And I think in the next five to 10 years we would hope to have a presence that is as impactful as any other sports conglomerate in the United States today.”

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