CAA’s acquisition of ICM, originally planned to be completed by the end of 2021, has been delayed as the Department of Justice’s antitrust division questions the deal’s “impact on the entertainment industry,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. They cite “multiple sources familiar with the matter.” The parties now hope to close the merger in Q2 2022.
Agency News
Agency News: Reuben Leaves Paradigm for WME
Longtime Paradigm veteran and head of their book publishing division Alyssa Reuben, has moved over to William Morris Endeavor’s books department in New York.
FBI Arrests Elusive Manuscript Thief
The FBI arrested Filippo Bernardini, 29, on Wednesday afternoon when he landed at JFK Airport in New York, and unsealed an indictment, in a long overdue deal, charging him with with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Bernardini is accused of conducting “a multi-year scheme to impersonate individuals involved in the publishing industry in order to fraudulently obtain hundreds of prepublication manuscripts of novels and other forthcoming books.” Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York FBI office Michael Driscoll said in a news release: “We allege Mr. Bernardini used his insider knowledge of the industry to get authors to send him […]
Clark Resigns from AALA Board
William Clark has resigned from the board of directors of the Association of American Literary Agents, in a disagreement over board election procedures. He served on the board since 2018, co-founding the DEI Committee and the charitable arm Literary Agents of Change (LAOC). In a letter to the board, he stated, “I cannot continue to serve in good conscience and fulfill my legal responsibilities as a board member when the board is unwilling to acknowledge and hold others to account for disregarding the same responsibilities.” Clark told PL, “The responsibilities I refer to are the three core legal responsibilities of […]
Legal: Court Sends Foundry Dispute to Mediation
Judge Joel M. Cohen approved the joint request by former Foundry Media partners Yfat Reiss Gendell and Peter McGuigan to send their dispute to the court’s non-binding Alternative Dispute Resolution mediation program. If the mediation fails to resolve the matter, the parties will appear back before Judge Cohen for a conference on February 15. In the meantime, as requested, the discovery and motion schedule was extended, pending the results of the mediation.
Representation
Author of Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Champion-Adeyemi has moved representation to CAA, listing Michelle Weiner for publishing rights. In May Deadline had reported that the author had signed with WME, moving over from ICM, which sold her trilogy to Holt Children’s in 2017. (If approved by the government, CAA is set to acquire ICM.)