Commentary

Cast & Crew Acquires Backstage Holdings

Cast & Crew, a leading cloud-based platform powering production and content creation, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Backstage Holdings ("Backstage"), which runs a talent marketplace and provides content tools for creatives.

The companies said the deal is designed to help fulfill their joint mission  of making content creation more efficient and effective at scale.

"This is a transformative acquisition for our company," said John Berkley, Chief Executive Officer of Cast & Crew. "We believe that finding the best talent and creative resources is one of the most critical challenges in content creation today, and Backstage has proven themselves capable of making this difficult work so much easier for millions of industry participants.”

In addition to its talent marketplace and content tools, Backstage owns complementary properties such as Voice123, a subscription-based marketplace for voice actors, Film Freeway, a tech-enabled submission platform for the world's leading film festivals, and Industry Arts, the global leader for screenwriting resources.

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Backstage will continue to operate as a distinct brand under the existing leadership of Josh Ellstein, who will assume the role of CEO, Backstage, and GM, Talent and Creative Solutions, and Michael Felman, who will assume the role of president, Backstage, and GM, Talent and Creative Solutions. Both will report to Berkley.

Cast & Crew is majority owned by investment firm EQT while Backstage is a portfolio company of investment TA Associates.

The acquisition was financed with a combination of cash and stock and as part of the transaction, Jason Mironov, a managing director at TA, will join the board of directors of Cast & Crew. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.  

 

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