Endeavor announced Wednesday that it is merging talent agency IMG’s events division, IMG Events, with hospitality firm On Location.
Paul Caine, who has led On Location since 2020, has been named president of the newly combined company. Jon Lavallee, who served as chief operating officer at ticketing company PrimeSport when it was acquired by On Location in 2017, will be the chief financial officer of the merged division.
“Bringing together these two dynamic businesses will serve to supercharge our consumer experiences within our extraordinary global events portfolio,” Endeavor president Mark Shapiro said in a statement. “Paul and Jon have brilliantly led On Location’s resurgence from the pandemic and I’m confident they will elevate these two highly complementary businesses with the full support of the Endeavor network at their backs.”
The two units provide hospitality and production around major events such as the Super Bowl, marquee food festivals, the PGA, NCAA and the upcoming Olympics in various global cities. Super Bowl LVI in February 2022 marked On Location’s single largest event in its history and indicated a notably bounce-back as live events pick back up during the pandemic. IMG Events has also seen record ticket, hospitality and sponsorships sales across its diverse slate of events this past year, including Frieze LA and NY, the Miami Open, Madrid Open, Taste of London, SailGP, Winter Wonderland and PBR.
Endeavor, which is headed up by Hollywood deal-maker Ari Emanuel, acquired On Location in January 2020 in a deal valued at $660 million. On Location is part of Endeavor’s Events, Experiences and Rights division, which is the company’s biggest revenue-driving unit as of the year’s first fiscal quarter with $825.8 million. IMG is part of the company’s Representation division, which generated $357.3 million for the quarter.
