M&C Saatchi Group Acquires Merlin Elite

M&C Saatchi UK Group has announced it has acquired a majority stake in talent management agency, Merlin Elite, with the new enterprise resulting in the launch of a new company, M&C Saatchi Merlin. 

Merlin Elite also become the first new organisation to join M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment Group.

Merlin Elite’s founder and chairman, Richard Thompson, becomes chairman reporting to Lisa Thomas, CEO, M&C Saatchi (UK) Group and Steve Martin, Global CEO of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment.

Since founding Merlin a decade ago, Thompson has built a roster of clients within sport and entertainment including: Jamie and Louise Redknapp, Denise Lewis, Andrew Flintoff, Matt Dawson, Jay Kay, Jodie Kidd and Jamie Theakston.  

To be based at M&C Saatchi’s headquarters in London, M&C Saatchi Merlin will act as a stand-alone business and will look to further grow its portfolio in sport, TV and entertainment, with a number of new names expected to join the roster.

Having expanded its own talent management offering in 2012, with former two time World Champion boxer Amir Khan, the partnership brings further fire power to M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment’s domestic and international offering. 2012 also saw the agency claim the coveted Sport Agency of the Year Award at the Sport Industry Awards 2012. 

Richard Thompson commented: ‘I am extremely excited to be joining the M&C Saatchi family. With the quality of people I have met, to the level of creativity and professionalism, I have no doubt this merger of talents will help create a new breed of Management Company – the first of its kind anywhere in the world. Talent management, both for sportspeople and entertainers, has fundamentally remained the same for the past thirty years. M&C Saatchi Merlin will have a creative approach to managing, nurturing and developing a career that will be unique. This acquisition demonstrates why M&C Saatchi have long been regarded as pioneers.’

Steve Martin added: ‘This is not about selling Merlin’s talent portfolio back to our existing clients. We are joining forces with Merlin Elite to allow us to develop new revenue streams, build valuable intellectual property and harness some of the best talent in the country. It is a pioneering business model and the combination of creativity with strategic personal management will really freshen up a part of the industry that has been doing the same thing for a long time.’

The board of M&C Saatchi Merlin will consist of Richard Thompson as chairman, Merlin Elite MD Sian Connolly, and Steve Martin, Lisa Thomas and Jamie Hewitt of M&C Saatchi Group FD.