Forstmann Continues IMG Buildout
Acquisition of ISP Sports extends the talent agency's reach into collegiate athletics.
July 29, 2010
IMG Worldwide agreed to acquire ISP Sports, a deal that further extends the company’s reach into college athletics. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The deal builds on an earlier acquisition in 2007, when IMG acquired Collegiate Licensing Agency (CLC), which at the time was the largest collegiate trademark licensing company in the US.
ISP Sports is being combined with IMG’s existing college sports unit. Ben Sutton Jr., the founder and CEO of ISP, will take over as president of the newly combined division, IMG College.
Private equity firm Forstmann Little & Co. acquired IMG in 2004 for a reported $750 million, shortly after its founder Mark McCormack passed away. A year later, Ted Forstmann assumed the helm as the CEO of IMG, setting aside his career in private equity.
Under Forstmann’s watch, the company has made a number of acquisitions. It was particularly active in 2007. That year, IMG acquired mobile media company Nunet, Quintus, BSI Speedway, Tennis Week Magazine, CSI Sports and both CLC and its sister company Licensing Partners International.
An inquiry into IMG was not immediately returned by press time.
In June, meanwhile, CNBC reported that old Forstmann rival Kohlberg Kravis Roberts was considering an investment in Creative Artists Agency, whose clients include LeBron James among others. Since the June reports, however, a deal between the two has yet to materialize.
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