Talent Partners to Acquire PES Payroll

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Talent Partners, a provider of talent and production support services for more than 750 agency and advertiser clients representing 1,500 brands, has agreed to acquire PES Payroll, a Burbank-based firm with 20 years' experience providing crew payroll and production support services to the commercial, television, film and live event industries.

"Our acquisition of PES Payroll is the first step in a transformative opportunity made possible by The Carlyle Group's investment in us," said Paul Muratore, President and CEO of Talent Partners. "This is an important part of our far-reaching plan to provide the most innovative solutions and value for our clients – to become an even more nimble and resourced production support services provider, for the increasingly global commercial industry and new growth areas like reality television, feature films, new media content and live events."

"PES Payroll is the perfect complement to Talent Partners with a strong client base, top-flight staff and technology that expands our range of offerings to agencies and advertisers," continued Muratore. "By joining Talent Partners, PES Payroll is getting something similar to what we received from our alignment with The Carlyle Group – the financial backing and business wherewithal to grow their business and better serve existing and a new world of clients."

"Talent Partners provides a unique opportunity for our clients and our employees, one that allows us to expand our innovative approach to payroll services," stated Stuart Grant, President and Chief Executive Officer of PES Payroll. "Talent Partners brings us five decades of experience as the innovator in the payroll and production support services industry, a global client base of the biggest agencies and advertisers – ones who we look forward to providing services for in our areas of expertise – staff and crew payroll and paperless workflow for commercials, television, feature and independent film, live events and more.  Equally as important, Talent Partners shares our dedication to client service and innovative solutions."

David Stonehill, Carlyle Managing Director, added: "Our investment in Talent Partners was based on its diverse global capabilities, its long-standing relationships with high quality clients and its growth potential.  The acquisition of PES Payroll is an important step in its growth, a smart, strategic alignment that will provide greater capabilities to both Talent Partners' and PES Payroll's clients."

With the acquisition of PES Payroll, Talent Partners is the go-to source for talent, staff and crew payroll, production services, rights and more across a multitude of areas – long form (film), medium form (television), short form (commercial, web, music video) content, as well as still images, music, sound and celebrity rights, including today's top stars and the estates of the deceased luminaries that brands utilize to add cache to their image.  The company provides on-the-set support services for crews and directors, actors, estimating and more; and, after the shoot, everything from talent payments to audits and compliance to asset management. When it comes to the variety of its services, Talent Partners offers its advertiser and agency clients everything but the creative idea itself, providing what CEO Muratore proclaims is their mission: "to take care of the business behind the business of creativity." 

Goodwin Procter LLP provided counsel to Talent Partners and The Carlyle Group for this acquisition.

About Talent Partners
In its nearly 50-year history, Talent Partners has grown from a specialty payroll company focused on commercial talent to a powerhouse provider of more than 125 essential services, including talent negotiations and business affairs, traffic and clearance, rights and royalty management, signatory services, and more.  The firm's 750+ client roster includes 1,500 brands and 95 of the top 100 global advertisers.  Each year, Talent Partners supports thousands of campaigns, accounting for over $1 billion in transactions. The company's 250+ person staff provides round-the-clock services from offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London and Toronto.

About PES Payroll
For over 20 years, PES Payroll has been an industry leader in innovative, solution-oriented customer service.  With a core focus on unscripted television, commercial crews and live events, PES Payroll delivers expediency, scalability, efficiency, and paperless solutions across the entertainment industry. 

For more information, go to www.talentpartners.com or call Renee Bellber at 646.981.6861 [email protected].

Media Contacts:
Sal Cataldi/Jacky Agudelo, Cataldi PR, Tel: 212.244.9797, [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Talent Partners