WME and Silver Lake Announce Deal to Buy IMG

The agency beat out rival bidders CVC Capital, Chernin Entertainment and a consortium of ICM Partners and the Carlyle Group. WME and its stakeholder Silver Lake Partners have announced an agreement to acquire IMG Worldwide, a rival talent agency and marketing firm with particular depth in sports. WME, the agency run by Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, came out on top during an auction where bids were submitted on Friday. Bids of less than $1.8 billion came in from CVC Capital and Chernin E...