Anonymous, like several other large-sized firms, is backed by private equity — Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective is a financier — while Grandview/Automatik, founded in 2014 by former CAA agents, is one of the few significant concerns still in private hands. The company has been fielding offers from various companies, including financial institutions, for a while now.
Part of the impetus for the acquisition is industry consolidation and perhaps the rise of Range Media, the management company founded in 2020 that has quickly become the largest, employee-wise at least, if not marquee client-wise, in town. Range also boasts divisions that deal with financing and branding as well as buying into the concept of client silos.
“Big changes are coming to the management sphere,” said one partner at an agency. “There is going to be consolidation and part of it is being driven by the end of packaging fees and streaming’s suppression of fees.” Part of Anonymous’ growth was driven in its ability to leverage its literary list to the production side. The success of