The William Morris Agency has reached an agreement to acquire the New York-based Premier Talent Agency. The agreement calls for Barbara Skydel to be named Senior Vice President within the WMA music division, and Frank Barsalona, the founder of Premier in 1964, will work as an active consultant to WMA.

"Premier is one of the most respected talent agencies in the music industry because of its approach to the business and the success it has achieved," Peter Grosslight, senior vice president and worldwide head of WMA's music division, said. "We look forward to working closely with Barbara, Frank and their distinguished clients."

"We're excited to bring our talented clients into the bigger family of William Morris," said Skydel, "which as the oldest and largest talent agency in the world has the reach and influence to continue the style and quality of representation that we've provided for so many years at Premier."

Barsalona added: "I view this acquisition as one legend joining another, and I'm excited about the lasting legacy of Premier Talent as it becomes a contributing part of William Morris."

Skydel became executive vice president of Premier in 1977 and partner alongside Barsalona in 1985, becoming the first female principal of a major talent agency. During her 30-year career, Skydel has been named Performance Magazine's Agent of the Year five times and Billboard's Agent of the Year twice. In 2000, she was saluted by "Women In Music" with the Touchstone Award, which recognizes women in the industry who have made a difference.

Barsalona founded Premier Talent in 1964 after serving as the youngest agent at General Artists Corporation, where he booked the initial Beatles and Rolling Stones appearances in the United States. As the first contemporary music agency in the U.S., Barsalona intended for Premier to answer the growing need for change in the market while addressing his unique philosophy as a performer.

Billboard published a special tribute to Premier in honor of the agency's 20th anniversary, and Barsalona has received the Performance Touring Hall of Fame Award. He is also a founding member and serves on the board of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and on March 11, he will be honored with the Silver Clef Award from the Nordoff-Robbins Foundation.

Premier's clients include, among others, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Roger Waters, The Pretenders, Sinead O'Connor, The Who, Pete Townshend, Keith Richards, Bob Geldof, Marianne Faithfull, Suzanne Vega, Sebastian Bach, Greg Lake, Big Audio Dynamite, Butterfly Jones, Desmond Child, Harvey Fierstein, Bob Geldof, Roger Hodgson, The Hooters, Little Steven, Linda Perry, Art On Ice, Havana Night and James Last Orchestra.

Bruce Springsteen was no longer a client of Premier at the time of the WMA acquisition, which has been rumored for months. Springsteen's long-time agent Barry Bell left Premier last summer, as exclusively reported on Celebrity Access, and took the Boss with him. U2 has not been with Premier for a few tours now once Michael Cohl started booking the group internationally.

Inside sources say that Jane Geraghty, the only other agent that was left at Premier, is taking some much-needed time off and evaluating her options.