Hollywood Breakdown
Looking at the State of WME-IMG Post Merger
Matthew Belloni recently spoke to super agents Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell for a piece in the Hollywood Reporter. Kim Masters talks to Belloni about that conversation, which is the first interview Emanuel and Whitesell have given on the topic of the talent agency's $2.4 billion merger with IMG two years ago.
By Matthew Belloni • • 3m ListenThe $2.4 billion question in Hollywood for the past two years has been whether the merger of talent agency WME with the sports and event management company IMG would be a success. Now that some of the financials are starting to come out, it looks like it might be. With all their various acquisitions, the company is no longer just a talent agency, but an entertainment conglomerate. It appears as if this might all be leading up to an IPO, but it's unclear what the timeline would be. As Matthew Belloni learned when he sat down with Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, while the company is now the biggest in the industry, they're not above taking jabs at rival agency CAA.
