WME-IMG Gets $250-M Softbank Investment at $5.5-M Valuation

WME-IMG Gets $250-M Softbank Investment at $5.5-M Valuation

$SFTBY, $AMC, $NFLX, $DWA, $TWX, $GOOGL

Silver Lake, a Silicon Valley private equity firm incurred $2.4-B of debt to acquire IMG in Y 2014.

Now, Japanese telecommunications and Internet giant SoftBank (OTCMKT:SFTBY) is investing $250-M in WME-IMG. The investment values the talent agency and sports and fashion conglomerate at more than $5.5-B.

“We’re thrilled to welcome industry leader SoftBank to WME-IMG,” read a joint statement from agency co-CEOs Ariel Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell. “SoftBank brings a unique industry perspective and a commitment to help us deliver valuable new opportunities to our clients and partners in markets around the world.”

WME and its majority owner, Silicon Valley private equity power Silver Lake, incurred considerable debt to acquire IMG in 2014 for $2.4-M, outbidding other suitors by more than $300-M.

This valuation indicates that the investment is paying off.

“Ari, Patrick and the rest of WME-IMG’s talented management team have a strong record of performance and transformation at the intersection of entertainment, sports and fashion,” read a statement from SoftBank Director Ron Fisher. “We look forward to supporting WME-IMG as it advances the next phase of its growth, further developing and driving its client and content offerings.”

WME-IMG has grown rapidly and diversified in the past several years, taking on private money to expand into sports, fashion, e-Sports and other areas.

WME-IMG, HQ’d in Beverly Hills, California, has brought on board celebrity stylists via its acquisition of the Wall Group and purchased the Professional Bullriding Tour and the Miss Universe pageant, among other assets.

SoftBank has become an active player in Hollywood of late under President and former Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) executive Nikesh Arora.

In Y 2014 it invested $250-M in Legendary Entertainment after talks to acquire DreamWorks Animation (NASDAQ:DWA) fell through. It also bought up niche streaming video service DramaFever for $100-M.

This year resold both of those purchases, selling DramaFever to Warner Bros.a unit of Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) and, along with other Legendary investors, cashing out its stake in the studio as part of China’s Dalian Wanda Group purchase, priced at $3.5-B.

Notably, SoftBank also struck a partnership deal with Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) when the service launched in Japan last fall.

Stay tuned…

HeffX-LTN

Paul Ebeling

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