Providence Equity ‘fully committed’ to Wasserman Agency during sale
Providence Equity is aiming to calm the waters within the Wasserman agency following Friday night’s surprise news that the company will be put up for sale and founder Casey Wasserman will depart amid the furor over his appearances in the Epstein files.
Casey Wasserman’s position as a leader in media and sports has been shaken by revelations as part of the Justice Department’s Epstein files that Wasserman had an intimate relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003, years before she was convicted of sex trafficking for her long association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Wasserman’s appearance in the document dump of Epstein files, despite the consensual nature of his exchanges with Maxwell, has created a firestorm among some of the clients represented by Wasserman’s sports, marketing and entertainment units. As leader of LA28, the organization of the Los Angeles Olympic Games, Casey Wasserman is also under pressure from Southern California political and social leaders to step down from his Olympic position. This controversy comes about eighteen months after he endured a tabloid-fueled scandal revolving around allegations that he had inappropriate office relationships.
Rhode Island-based Providence Equity became an investor in the Wasserman agency in late 2022 and now owns a majority of the company, which includes management heavyweight Brillstein Entertainment Partners. With Casey Wasserman leaving, Providence is believed to be committed to keeping the company intact as it considers long-term options. This includes merger and acquisition opportunities to improve and expand operations.
On Friday evening, Casey Wasserman named Wasserman President Mike Watts interim leader of the company during the transition. On Saturday, Providence pledged its support for Watts and its confidence in the agency’s future.
“We believe deeply in the strength of the company and have full confidence in Mike and the leadership team, as well as the exceptional employees across the organization,” said a Providence Equity spokesperson. “We remain fully committed to investing in growth, expanding opportunities across sports, music and entertainment, and supporting the extraordinary talent, brands and properties the company proudly represents.”
The Friday night surprise had many talent representatives at competing companies pouring over Wasserman’s prints in search of opportunities. There has been a lot of speculation about whether the industry’s biggest companies – CAA, WME, UTA – will compete for any share of Wasserman, or whether another moneyed player will join Providence.
Several high-ranking agents were still reeling Saturday over Wasserman’s decision to divest his company. Others were incredulous that Wasserman used his farewell memo to his staff as an attempt to bolster his performance at the Olympics.
“It’s like a child deciding which toy to give up as punishment,” said a veteran film talent agent. Still, Wasserman’s favor to remain at the top of LA28 was sealed earlier this week when the board issued a statement of support. His biggest advocate on the LA28 board, multiple sources say, is former DreamWorks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg — a mogul with many local political connections who seems “absolutely determined” to break the fall for Wasserman, one source noted.
“He hasn’t broken any laws that we know of,” a top Hollywood dealmaker said on condition of anonymity. “But if you link this to the scandal from a year ago, you see a pattern of behavior. The sleaze factor is too high, and no customer wants to go near that.”
It was previously reported that leadership in Wasserman’s sports, music and talent management businesses were negotiating directly with Casey Wasserman’s capital partner Providence, in an effort to save the assets as one bundle. While Wasserman’s music artists were largely responsible for pressuring him to step away, the actor-rich Brillstein Entertainment Partners would inevitably have come under scrutiny. It was only a year ago that Emma Stone moved to Brillstein with manager Doug Wald. Much less so for Sydney Sweeney, whose longtime talent agent, Jennifer Millar, transitioned into management and moved to Brillstein in December. There’s no doubt that female stars of Stone and Sweeney’s stature would have felt the heat if Casey Wasserman hadn’t bowed out.
