Los Angeles-headquartered entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) is entering the Indian market in partnership with KWAN Entertainment & Marketing Solutions. The two companies have formed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) — CAA KWAN.
The JV will represent local talent in India and SAARC nations, and create global opportunities for clients in areas such as motion pictures and television (including packaging and sales), music, commercial endorsements, sports consulting, licensing and merchandising, live events and business development.
CAA's David Taghioff and Caleb Franklin and KWAN' chief executive and managing director Anirban Das Blah and chief operating officer (CEO) Indranil "Niel" Blah will jointly lead CAA KWAN. The new company, with more than 60 employees, will be based in Mumbai, with offices in Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
CAA, which has offices in London, Beijing, New York, Chicago, Nashville and other locations in the US and worldwide, had signed Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra in February. It also works with director Shekhar Kapur, apart from over 2,000 celebrities from the world of entertainment and sports.
This is not the first time an international agency has come to India. Recently, American agency Platinum Rye Entertainment had picked up 50 per cent stake in Mahesh Bhupathi-promoted Globosport's Brand Advisory Business. Incidentally, Anirban Das Blah had co-founded Globosport and was the CEO of the company till 2009, when he started KWAN.
Earlier, New York-based fashion, sports and talent management company IMG Worldwide had entered into a 50:50 JV with Reliance Industries to form IMG Reliance.
“India’s robust entertainment industry offers CAA KWAN tremendous opportunities for talent across multiple platforms,” said Richard Lovett, president of CAA. “In a very short time, KWAN has intelligently scaled and diversified their business to maximise this thriving marketplace for their clients. KWAN’s deep network of relationships, local-market knowledge, and collaborative business philosophy make them a powerful partner in furthering CAA’s existing business in India and providing our clients with more opportunities.”
“We believe the combination of CAA’s experience, influence, and expertise, with KWAN’s extensive knowledge of the Indian entertainment industry, will enable us to provide an unmatched spectrum of services for our clients,” said Anirban Das Blah.