WME-IMG Getting $1.1B Cash Infusion, Could Use It To Buy Out UFC Minority Partners

WME-IMG is about to receive a $1.1B investment "led by a Canadian pension fund and a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund" that would value the agency at $6.3B, an increase from $5.5B in '16, according to Gene Maddaus of VARIETY. Silver Lake Partners, the private equity firm that owns a majority stake in WME-IMG, announced the deal yesterday in a letter to its investors. The deal is "expected to close in mid-August." In the letter, Silver Lake said that the new investment will "make it possible to buy out some minority partners" in the UFC and will "allow some of WME-IMG’s senior management and investors to take cash out." The investment is also "intended to enable further acquisitions." The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Government of Singapore Investment Fund are limited partners of Silver Lake, and other limited partners are also "expected to take part." Maddaus notes the capital infusion "could also relieve pressure" on WME-IMG to take part in an IPO (VARIETY.com, 8/2).