Wasserman Buys Long Haul Mgmt // RockWater Advises on Sale
RockWater Roundup
RockWater analysis to make you a better investor and operator. Today we congratulate our client Long Haul Management on their sale to Wasserman. We served as exclusive financial advisor to Long Haul and founder/CEO Dan Levitt.
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🫡Deal kudos and a personal note…
I first met Dan back in 2012 at Big Frame, an early YouTube MCN. Our digital business was growing, and we sought a leader for our new Music Talent vertical. I remember Dan walking into our Sunset Blvd offices for his first interview boasting a shiny suit and a big grin…as well as a very strong POV on where he saw opportunity in New Hollywood. It was a truly “I’m in a whole new world” moment for me as I myself was newly kicking off my own digital media career as an operator, post a career start in my 20s as a Wall Street banker.
There’s so much to say about that very special time of the early MCN days. But for me and Dan, I look back with a very simple sentiment…
We had so much fun together while building an early YouTube business! We had so many funny, wacky, and inspirational moments in those early digital days!!
I saw Dan hustle for digital talent clients, produce some of the first-ever music series on YouTube, build a strong bond with our head of audience development (some random guy named Matthew Patrick aka MatPat…iykyk), and many other great work accomplishments.
But my favorite memories are the in-between moments…
Like watching Dan store what seemed like hundreds of corn dogs in our company freezer, which he ate on a daily basis; taking photos together on the set of Polished in wacky blazers from talent wardrobes; and having a rap battle in front of our entire office where Dan (and it pains me to write this) won over the crowd with his final diss about my 2013 Ford Escape, a true lemon and which nearly caught fire on the 10 highway.
Dan, I think this is the first time I’m publicly acknowledging your rap battle win. Between that and a sale of your company, what a week for you 😉
All that aside, and to what is critical to understand how Dan ended up selling Long Haul this week in a landmark deal, is that I saw in Dan an incredible drive to convince the world where he thought the future of media x entertainment was headed, particularly for digital talent representation.
So Dan left Big Frame in 2013 to pursue his dream, and Long Haul was born.
Dan and I continued to maintain a strong friendship. I distinctly remember seeing him at various industry events and parties throughout LA, and he always had a new career win he couldn’t wait to share with me. He was so excited, passionate, and motivated by his burgeoning talent business.
It made my heart smile.
While I perhaps never fully shared this with Dan in the moment, I always did think to myself in all those moments “wow, he’s really building something special here”.
Then Dan called me in 2023 and said he was interested in taking Long Haul to the next level. He wanted to find a new and exciting strategic partner to help make that reality. I told him I had some ideas for how our RockWater team could help…
The rest is history.
Dan, you are one of a kind, and a joy of a human. You are a business visionary and a success multiplier. I’m so pumped for you and the Long Haul team.
Excited to see where you and #teamwass take the digital talent business next 😉
On the deal specifics…
The official press release for the deal is below. I won’t do my normal deal breakdown and valuation analysis since I’m under NDA about all deal details.
Instead, I’ll simply highlight below four key takeaways that align with broader market M&A trends, and that are extensively covered on our deal blog:
(1) Growing consolidation of talent rep companies, particularly those with digital-native talent.
This is driven by the simple value proposition that talent are the new vehicle to reach today’s audiences at scale, and in the digital environments where audiences spend most of their time. So if you want to promote or launch a business or newco, talent are critical partners, and the reps are their gatekeepers and confidants.
(2) PE-backed entertainment companies, particularly Hollywood agencies who want to capture more brand / marketer and media client budget share, continue to be aggressive buyers.
Almost every top Hollywood agency, and increasingly management companies, have major investors behind them who see high ROI via rapid scaling through M&A and in turn, market share capture and improved bottom-line profitability.
The business models and operating structures of these companies are relatively straightforward. Therefore, there are clear synergies in combination to grow revenues (sell more services to existing and new brand clients, expand to new verticals and geos, talent collaboration packages for studios and streamers), as well as to consolidate back office functions like HR, finance, accounting, legal, etc.
But ham-fisting talent-centric businesses together based on spreadsheets will not end well. What drives success in combination is strong leadership who (1) get talent, brands, and creative, (2) ensure there is shared vision and spiritual alignment for what to build towards and how to do it collaboratively, and (3) financially incentivize existing and new team members to keep building and growing the newly combined company, and manage channel conflict that is bound to come up.
(3) Sports-focused talent and marketer agencies are premium M&A targets.
Sports is one of the few things that cuts through the media and digital noise, and galvanizes scaled audiences for collective viewing and irl experiences. It’s why the cost of sports media rights, valuations of sports teams, and sports player contracts continue to break records.
There are many factors driving the success of sports media, ranging from sports being one of the last remaining monocultures in national and global media, the rapid expansion of niche sports leagues with carriage across a growing array of digital distribution channels, new fandom empowerment tools and platforms, sports creator empowerment via new NIL laws, the legalization of sports gambling to drive fan engagement, and much more.
In turn, the overall growth of sports media drives more demand for sports-focused representation firms and marketing agencies. Sports talent, whether athletes or social creators or other, along with sports publishers, are the epicenter of modern sports fandoms, and thus a key conduit to reach large and engaged audiences.
Advertising and Hollywood agencies are thus keenly focused on the emerging businesses that connect these talent and publishers with brand marketer partners.
(4) Few talent rep and influencer marketing companies of scale remain.
Those with critical mass of revenue and team, and where there are clear growth opportunities through combination, are premium M&A targets.
There’s an extra premium for IM companies with legitimate proprietary technology, that helps with workflows like sourcing talent, creator-brand matchmaking, campaign management / reporting / optimization, etc. Though be wary here since most proprietary IM tech is just a glossy sheen for underlying managed services.
Of note, I believe that the industry and investors need to come to terms with the fact that talent and brand-centric businesses, particularly influencer marketing, will always require meaningful human investment. It’s just how the industry works, and it’s not a bad thing…it’s just market reality!
So for all you buyers, just know what it means for sustainable company margins post integration, what realistic synergies are, where investment must be made at scale…and the key questions to ask in diligence.
Of note, I’ve actually met a few tech-centric IM companies recently that feel different than the rest, and I’m excited to dig into their business performance. There might be some good targets for buyers in 2025 who want a truly differentiated IM tech offering – will keep you all updated.
✨Alright, now to the official press release…
‘Wasserman Creators’ Division Grows; Continues Company’s Impact in the Sports, Music, and Entertainment Industries
Global sports, music, and entertainment company Wasserman has acquired Long Haul Management and named CEO/Founder Dan Levitt Senior Vice President, Creators, announced today by President, Global Talent Jason Ranne. As part of the acquisition, all Long Haul staff and clients are joining ‘Wasserman Creators,’ the talent representation division launched in October, 2023.
“Dan is one of the original founding members of the creator representation business, and we are thrilled he decided to bring his knowledge, leadership, and creator advocacy to Wasserman,” said Ranne.
“Wasserman has a storied history in representation, and I’m excited to unlock larger opportunities for our clients – turning their next big ideas into ambitious new lines of business – while continuing my mission of helping empower creators,” said Levitt.
The Long Haul team have an extensive work history with Wasserman in a number of different capacities, including: creative, production, media buying and creator marketing and activations.
Levitt founded Long Haul – a digital-first talent representation company focusing on sports, gaming and lifestyle creators – in 2013. For over a decade, Long Haul helped their clients leverage their massive social followings to grow sustainable and diversified media businesses. Long Haul has consistently been early to sign creators in emerging content verticals, and was one of the first companies to scale a roster focused in gaming, before expanding into sports and later lifestyle, with a focus on signing creators from diverse backgrounds.
Long Haul has particularly helped pioneer the creator sports space, doing many of the first large scale creator partnerships with companies like the NBA, House of Highlights and Overtime. Prior to founding Long Haul, Levitt had experience working for Big Frame, Disney, and Columbia Records.
New Wasserman Creators clients include YouTuber MatPat, who created the ‘Theorist’ family of channels that have over 40 Million subscribers, as well as several of YouTube’s top gaming, sports and pop culture talent, including: streetball legend The Professor, top Madden gamer MMG, trickshot star Tristan Jass, sports and lifestyle creator Crissa Jackson, gaming news brand Gameranx, and gen Z basketball sensation Cam Wilder. Dan was also an Executive Producer on the Streamy-winning YouTube Red series ‘MatPat’s Game Lab.’ Levitt will continue to be based in Los Angeles, CA.
Throughout its over 20-year history, Wasserman has deliberately and strategically grown its worldwide presence through both targeted acquisitions and organic growth, establishing itself as one of the world’s leading companies in the areas of sports and music talent representation, and brands and properties consultancy.
About Wasserman
Wasserman operates at the epicenter of sports, music, entertainment and culture, serving talent, brands and properties on a global scale. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Wasserman’s presence spans 27 countries and more than 66 cities, including New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico City, Toronto, Paris and Sydney.
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I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do financial and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. From M&A and fundraising to consumer research and go-to-market planning.
DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris @ wearerockwater dot com
