The sale of IMG moves into its final phase today when Forstmann Little collects binding bids from the three remaining bidders. The three finalists include: CVC Capital and Peter Chernin’s Chernin Group; Silver Lake Capital and William Morris Endeavor; Carlyle Group and ICM Partners. Binding offers are due by the end of the day. Silver Lake and WME, which has former ESPN exec Mark Shapiro working with it, and CVC, which has former ESPN Chair and NFL Network CEO Steve Bornstein working with it, are expected to put forward the most serious offers, according to sources familiar with the process. Carlyle Group, which raised a $23B fund this year, remained in the auction process this week but their interest in IMG is unclear.
Bids will be evaluated by the trustees, who are being led by Akin Gump attorney Mark MacDougall, and the banks working on the deal, Evercore and Morgan Stanley. A buyer could be selected within days if there is a big difference between the offers, or the sales process could drag on for as long as two or three weeks. IMG is expected to attract an all-cash offer of more than $2B, and reportedly has received an offer of $2.7B.
