Was it all just a bait and switch?

It’s been more than three months since Casey Wasserman initiated the process of selling his titular agency, after telling staffers in a memo that he had “become a distraction” due to his appearance in the Epstein files.

That pledge ostensibly staunched the exodus of clients cutting ties with the Hollywood megalith, most notably singer Chappelle Roan and soccer legend Abby Wambach. It also muted calls from elected officials demanding the 51-year-old step down as chairman of LA28.

But sources familiar with the sale say the embattled mogul may be intentionally torpedoing the bidding process to buy time to tamp down the outrage caused by the release of his email exchanges with convicted sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

“What is clear to me and has been clear to me since about two weeks ago,” says one person familiar with the financials, “is he doesn’t really want to sell it, nor does he intend to sell it or intend not to be involved.”

Sources tell Page Six Hollywood that some 14 entities — mostly private equity firms — made non-binding offers on the company whose assets span music, sports and brand consulting, as well as the management company Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Now, only three remain, including frontrunner Permira. The other one is New Mountain Capital, which doesn’t do much investing in the entertainment or media space. And UTA/EQT Private Equity technically is still in the mix.

But some tell P6H that UTA/EQT has been used as a stalking horse, because UTA can’t absorb Brillstein due to regulations barring talent agencies from owning management companies.

UTA is primarily interested in the sports and music assets, but Wasserman doesn’t want to sell the company piecemeal because the sum of the parts is less valuable than the whole.

The consensus in the private equity community is that there is a wide gulf between what Wasserman thinks the company’s worth and its actual value.

Sources say Wasserman believes the price should be $3.5 to $4 billion, which one knowledgeable source dubs “absurd.” “A more realistic valuation is $2.5 billion to $2.75 billion. Maybe $3 billion if someone is on their tippy toes,” says the source.

Most of the bidders either passed or indicated a bid well below what Wasserman was willing to consider. Wasserman’s music business, which represents everyone from Coldplay to Ed Sheeran and Kendrick Lamar, is the most impressive asset. But those who’ve looked at the books say the division’s success in recent years is due more to acquisitions than to organic growth.

Even stranger, Wasserman may have moved the original goalposts. One private equity source says he is now telling potential buyers that if they want the company to be successful, “he’s going to have to stick around in some way, shape or form.” Only Permira and New Mountain are said to be potentially amenable to a scenario where Wasserman sticks around, while those investors looking for a clean break are being pushed out of the process, according to sources.

Initially, there were up to nine different private equity companies interested, while potential strategic investors included superagent Patrick Whitesell via his Win Sports Group. Potential buyers WME and Range also “kicked the tires” on the company. But the field has narrowed significantly. And some believe that is by design.

Casey owns 25% of the company, now dubbed The Team following a rebranding, but has the unilateral right to say yes or no to a potential buyer. Rhode Island-based Providence Equity Partners, which owns 60%, can’t force him to offload. The difference in what he’d yield whether selling at $2.5 billion vs. $3.5 billion comes down to about $250 million. “It still puts him in rarified air,” observes one person familiar with the process.

The structure of the Providence deal is unique and might explain why Wasserman holds all the cards in the bidding process.

Back in 2022 when Providence invested in Wasserman’s growing business, lawyers for Providence agreed to a provision that they wouldn’t sell their stake before 2029. Before he became embroiled in the Epstein files, insiders thought that Wasserman’s plan was to get through the Olympics, take a victory lap and then put his stake in the company up for sale in 2028.

Those involved with the current bakeoff believe Wasserman is merely trying to appear like a motivated seller and will quietly end the sale process.

“I think he’s just got too much hubris about what it’s worth, and I think he really believes he can get away with pulling it off the market, cooling off, and then going back while no one really pays attention,” says the person familiar with the financials.

A rep did not comment. But a source familiar with the sale denied the characterization and insisted there are well over three bidders in the running. “There is a huge amount of enthusiasm for this [deal]… everybody wants it,” said an insider. The source added that any hold up is thanks to the long diligence meetings that must happen for a sale of this size and complexity.

Wasserman previously told the New York Times in a statement about the Maxwell emails: “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light. I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”

Permira declined comment. Mountain View did not respond to a request for comment.