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Private Equity Firms Partner Up To Make Bid For IMG Worldwide

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Billion dollar bids for IMG Worldwide expected to be submitted in the next couple of weeks.

Ever hear of that little company named IMG Worldwide?  You know, the one that Teddy Forstmann purchased for $750 million in 2004?  Well that company is expected to receive buyout bids at around $2 billion.  And the bids are predicted to start rolling in over the course of the next couple of weeks.

It has been documented that sports and entertainment conglomerates including William Morris Endeavor, Creative Artists Agency, Lagardere and Wasserman Media Group are interested in acquiring the assets (or at least part of them) and relationships of IMG Worldwide.  But a new non-sports and entertainment group may be in a position to out-bid them all and take-over the sports, fashion and marketing agency.

According to Reuters, private equity firm KKR & Co LP and New Mountain Capital LLC have partnered to put forth a bid in an effort to take over IMG Worldwide.  It would not be the first time a private equity company burst into the sports scene through a major acquisition.

In 2006, Louisville, Kentucky-based Blue Equity LLC entered the sports industry through the roll-up of various agencies including SFX Tennis, Bill Strickland’s basketball agency and Joel Segal’s football practice.  Years later, Lagardere Unlimited acquired BEST (Blue Entertainment Sports Television), which was the name of the sports and entertainment affiliate created by Blue Equity.  In and out in a few years with a monetary gain — that is the goal for many private equity companies.  KKR & Co LP and New Mountain Capital LLC may be thinking they can reap similar rewards as Blue Equity using a similar model.

KKR’s private equity practice has a global portfolio of over 80 companies, which operate in 17 industries and in 19 countries.  New Mountain Capital’s private equity division claims to generally invest $100 million-$500 million per transaction.  It may need to pony up a little more cash in order to put forward a competitive bid with KKR for the potential purchase of IMG.

 

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.