Endeavor, the global media and entertainment giant, has commenced a review and potential sale of certain events within its IMG portfolio, including the Miami Open and Madrid Open tennis tournaments.
This review follows the announcement in April 2024 of private equity group Silver Lake’s agreement to take Endeavor private in the first quarter of 2025, which includes provisions related to the potential sale of certain businesses, excluding sports and entertainment company TKO Group and entertainment agency WME.
Endeavor has retained the Raine Group advisory firm to assist with the exploratory process.
The company stated that no definitive timetable has been set for completion of this review process, and “there is no assurance that the review will result in any specific action.”
IMG, the major sports and entertainment agency, added the Madrid Open to its tennis portfolio in 2021. The annual Miami Open and Madrid Open tournaments occupy top-tier places on both the men's ATP and women’s WTA tours.
Last year, it was reported by The Athletic that Saudi Arabia was pushing to purchase either tournament.
Meanwhile, IMG sold its 50% share in the ATP 500 Rio Open men’s tennis tournament to fellow shareholder Mubadala Capital, the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, in 2023.
After the Madrid Open acquisition, IMG had control of three major tennis events, breaking ATP by-laws preventing tournament operators from owning more than two top-level tournaments.
Mark Shapiro, Endeavor president and chief operating officer, has said: “Endeavor’s portfolio includes iconic, global, and must-attend events spanning sports, entertainment, and the arts.
“As part of Endeavor, the Miami and Madrid Open tournaments have each grown significantly, 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.”
This announcement was made on the same day that Endeavor unveiled the sale of a trio of high-profile sports and entertainment assets to subsidiary TKO Group, the merged ownership company of mixed martial arts promotion UFC and professional wrestling company WWE.
The $3.25 billion all-equity purchase sees IMG, events and hospitality firm On Location, and the bull riding touring competition Professional Bull Riders (PBR) taken under the TKO Group umbrella.
While the leadership of PBR and On Location will remain unchanged, IMG president of media Adam Kelly will now step in as president of the IMG business segment.
This move, which will close in the first half of 2025, expands TKO’s operations outside of just competition operation and into the broader sports business landscape, whilst simultaneously helping pare down Endeavor’s own operations before it is set to privatize in the first quarter of 2025.
The move expands Endeavor's stake in TKO up to 59%, from 53%, whilst diluting the stake of existing TKO shareholders, mostly stakeholders in WWE, down to 41%.
The Miami Open and Madrid Open, meanwhile, are the latest Endeavor properties on the market after the firm put its IMG Arena and OpenBet businesses up for sale earlier this year.
Endeavor acquired sports betting platform OpenBet in 2022 for about $800 million and merged it with IMG Arena into one division in February this year.
Silver Lake announced that it was taking Endeavor private in April after acquiring 100% of the company in a deal that valued the sports and entertainment heavyweight at $13 billion.
As part of that deal, Endeavor stated it would look to sell off several assets.
The sports and entertainment heavyweight recently reported revenue of $1.75 billion for the second quarter of the year and a net loss of $253.8 million.
Endeavor will release its third-quarter financial figures on November 7.
