Endeavor Group Holdings has launched a review to explore a potential sale of certain events within its IMG portfolio.
Events under review include, but are not limited to, the Miami Open and Madrid Open tennis tournaments and modern and contemporary art exhibition producer Frieze.
“Endeavor’s portfolio includes iconic, global and must-attend events spanning sports, entertainment and the arts,” president and COO Mark Shapiro said in a statement. “As part of Endeavor, Frieze and the Miami and Madrid Open tournaments have each grown significantly, from Frieze launching successful fairs in Los Angeles and Seoul to the Miami and Madrid Opens setting year-over-year attendance and sponsorship records. We are proud of this progress and confident that these unique assets are well-positioned for success in the future.”
The company has retained The Raine Group to assist with the process, which does not have a definitive timetable for completion and may not result in any specific action. The company said it would not comment further unless and until it determines that further disclosure is necessary or advisable.
The review comes after private equity firm Silver Lake revealed its plan to take Endeavor private earlier this year in a $13 billion deal, which is slated to close by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
The plan includes transferring, divesting or selling certain business units or assets, excluding TKO and any of its subsidiaries and the agency representation business WME. Endeavor previously said during its second quarter earnings that it was actively marketing OpenBet and IMG Arena.
Additionally, TKO revealed on Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire On Location, IMG and Professional Bull Riders from Endeavor in a $3.25 billion all-equity deal slated to close in the first half of 2025. The WWE and UFC parent noted that its IMG acquisition would not include businesses associated with the IMG brand in licensing, models and tennis representation, nor IMG’s full events portfolio.
TKO is not part of the Silver Lake-Endeavor transaction and will remain a publicly traded company.
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