Beverly Hills-headquartered Endeavor will retain 20% of its content studio.
The talent holding company sold 80% of its stake in Endeavor Content, which it founded in 2017, under terms it reached with the Writers Guild of America earlier in 2021 to resume client writer representation in exchange for the relinquishing control of its content branch. CJ ENM, whose Oscar-winning Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” was produced by CJ Entertainment Inc., will pay $775 million for participation, which The Wall Street Journal first reported Nov. 18.
The deal values Endeavor Content at $850 million, and Endeavor will retain 20% of the company, retaining its movie sales and unscripted divisions. The sale follows the June sale by fellow talent agency Creative Artists Agency of its Wiip studio to South Korean media company Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Co.
In 2019, the WGA filed suit against the Big Four talent agencies, which included Endeavour, CAA, United Talent Agency and ICM Partners, for the practice of “packaging” talent into potential studios, which it says the WGA, was a conflict of interest.
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