Napoli Management Group, the TV talent rep firm that is home to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes, has sold a majority interest to Louisville, Ky.-based Blue Equity private investment firm.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Blue Equity already owns a portfolio of specialty talent rep firms such as Two Twelve Management, which specializes in chefs; Best Entertainment, which handles NFL players; and 3 Kings Entertainment, which also handles media personalities.

Beverly Hills-based Napoli Management, founded in 1993 by president-CEO Mendes Napoli, is well-regarded in TV for its broad roster of more than 600 local and cable TV news personalities, ranging from anchors and reporters to sportscasters and weathercasters.

“We are very excited to add one of the leading talent agencies that works with broadcast news talent to the Blue Equity family of companies and to be working with company founder Mendes Napoli and his team of agents,” said Jonathan S. Blue, chairman and managing director of Blue Equity.

Blue Equity’s investment portfolio at present includes technology firms (Keemotion, NetBallistics) and liquor retailers Liquor Barn and Party Mart. The pact with Napoli Management marks another example of private investment firms taking an interest in the historically volatile business of talent representation. It also comes as larger Hollywood tenpercenteries, including UTA and ICM, have beefed up their operations in the TV news and unscripted talent arena.

“Partnering with Blue will allow us to stay competitive in this ever-changing environment and will provide us with the resources we need to expand our practice,” Napoli said. “Teaming up with Blue Equity will give us the ability to grow our company into an even larger force in the industry. I know our clients will be well served by this new entity.”

Read the original article HERE at Variety.com