Rumored Potential IMG Sale Is The Talk Of Tinsel Town

Written by: Staff on 13th December 2012

Rumored Potential IMG Sale Is The Talk Of Tinsel Town |

IMG Worldwide says its not for sale, but it at least appears to be in play as the buzz around the Hollywood’s trade newspapers has been hot and heavy.

On Wednesday, the Hollywood Reporter stated that the sports and entertainment management and production company might be worth $3 billion and cited insiders who stated that the planned 2013 sale of IMG “is the result of an upcoming cash-out by several investors in a fund that backs the global talent management, television production and licensing firm.”

On Tuesday, Variety reported that the private equity firm Forstmann Little & Co. was preparing to put IMG up for sale next year and valued its worth at $2 billion.

IMG denied that it was for sale, but Variety said that the investment bank Goldman Sachs has been informally helping Forstmann prep it for a sale.

The Hollywood Reporter said that the company is being put for sale because some of its limited partners in one of its funds have investment agreements that are set to expire in June 2013, which would necessitate the sale. Some of these partners might include Boeing and General Electric’s pension funds, which have economic ties IMG through their investments with Forstmann Little.

Forstmann Little acquired IMG in 2004 for around $700 million shortly after the death of IMG founder Mark McCormack, who was a big fan of tennis and golf and who married former WTA player Betsy Nagelson.

IMG has represented a slew of top players and still represents top earners Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova. It runs tournaments such as Miami and Stanford, and has sponsor and licensing programs for the Australian Open and Wimbledon. It also has its name on the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, and has a large broadcasting arm. The company’s IMG College division handles multimedia, marketing, ticket and licensing for more than 200 collegiate properties, including the NCAA.

IMG Media just agreed to a new three-year deal with the Barclays Premier League (soccer) for airplanes and ships rights, which includes extensive coverage on Sport 24, the 24-hour live sports channel exclusively produced for the airline and cruise industry.

Outside of sports, IMG’s talent division is a big player in the music and fashion worlds, representing superstar models such as Heidi Klum, and pop star Justin Timberlake.

Since the death of Ted Forstmann in November 2011, who was also a big tennis fan and who grew close to Roger Federer, there have been rumors that the company would be put up for sale. In a major blow to the company, Federer and his agent, Tony Godsick, left IMG when their contracts ran out last June.

It’s possible that a potential buyer might want to break up the company into different pieces.

There were a number of potential buyers listed by Variety and the Hollywood Reporter including rivals CAA and the Wasserman Media Group, tech investment firm Silver Lake, the private equity firm Guggenheim Partners and India’s Reliance.

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: IMG, IMG sale, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News

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