William Morris/Silver Lake Group Nears Deal To Acquire IMG

Silver Lake Partners and William Morris Endeavor are close to finalizing a deal for IMG. The partners today entered final negotiations with the banks and trustees selling the Forstmann Little-owned company. The IMG board is expected to vote on the offer today. A source valued their offer for IMG at more than $2.3B. The Wall Street Journal reported a deal could be announced tomorrow and said it could carry a price tag of nearly $2.5B.

The pending acquisition would immediately turn WME, a leading Hollywood talent agency, into a leader in sports by adding IMG’s sports consulting, tennis, golf, college and media businesses to its portfolio. Longtime ESPN exec Mark Shapiro is expected to play a role with the new company.