Backstage, a freelancer marketplace connecting talent and content creators, has acquired StarNow, a New Zealand-based talent platform for actors, models, influencers and musicians; and The Mandy Network, a UK-based talent platform for cast, crew, production services and creative professionals. The acquisitions are supported by a strategic investment from TA Associates, a global growth private equity firm. Members of the Backstage senior management team invested alongside TA and hold a significant equity interest in the company.

“From our start as a trade publication for New York theater actors, Backstage has grown into a preeminent resource for the discovery and procurement of talent globally. We have built a deep and diverse talent database, and developed cutting-edge tools for industry professionals and today’s new breed of content creators,” said Josh Ellstein, CEO of Backstage. “The acquisitions of StarNow, with its commanding market position in Australasia, and The Mandy Network, among the largest creative communities of its kind, are in keeping with our efforts to continuously expand the depth and breadth of resources and best-in-class tools available to Backstage members. We welcome TA as an investor and look forward to a close collaboration in writing the next chapter of the Backstage story.”