Softbank Spends $250 Million on WME/IMG Stake

Japanese telecom giant Softbank Corp. is investing $250 million for a 5% stake in talent and sports agency WME/IMG.

The deal, announced Wednesday, continues a series of recent investments in Hollywood's largest talent agencies fueling aggressive acquisitions and growth. Among WME/IMG's recent moves have been buying the Miss Universe pageant from Donald Trump and partnering with Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting System on a videogame e-sports league.

WME/IMG's largest rival, Creative Artists Agency LLC, in October received a $250 million investment from TPG Capital, increasing the private-equity firm's stake in the agency to 53%.

Long No. 2 behind CAA in the business of representing movie stars, musical artists, and other creative talent, WME jumped in size in late 2013 when it merged with sports and fashion agency IMG. That deal was backed by private-equity firm Silver Lake, which owned 51% of WME/IMG prior to the Softbank investment.

The new investment dilutes all of WME/IMG's owners equally, a person close to the agency confirmed.

In addition to providing more capital for growth, the deal should ease the pressure on WME/IMG, which carries a significant amount of debt, to offer shares on public markets.

Softbank has been exploring deals in Hollywood for the past couple of years. In late 2014 it invested $250 million in Legendary Entertainment LLC, the film finance and production company behind "Godzilla" and "Pacific Rim," which was recently acquired by China's Dalian Wanda Group Co.

Write to Ben Fritz at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 23, 2016 14:35 ET (18:35 GMT)

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