WME-IMG: WME/IMG Gets Cash Infusion

The investment will bring the world's second largest licensing agent's value up to $6.3 billion.NORTH AMERICA-Licensing agency WME/IMG is set to receive a $1.1 billion investment from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Government and a Singaporean fund, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The new investment will bring the agency's value to $6.3 billion, up from its $5.5 billion valuation in 2016. The investment was announced by Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm that owns a significant stake in the agency.WME/IMG is the world's second largest licensing agent, according to License Global's annual Top Global Licensing Agents report, with $8.7 billion in retail sales in 2015, and is also the home of IMG College Licensing (formerly the Collegiate Licensing Company), the No. 10 largest licensor in the world. The agency's key licensed brands include: PGA Tour, UEFA Euro 2016, 24 Hour Le Mans, Wimbeldon, Royal Ascot, Playboy, "Sesame Street" (Asia), Goodyear, The Laughing Cow, One World Trade Center, Ferrari, Volkswagen, Joyrich, Sergio Tacchini and Arnold Palmer, among many others.WME/IMG received a $250 million investment from Japan's Softbank last year, followed by a $55 million investment from Fidelity Management and Research.According to THR, the newly acquired investments are expected to help fund the agency's "sprawling ambitions," including acquisitions both domestic and international. Recent acquisitions for WME/IMG include UFC last year, Professional Bull Riders in 2015 and Donald Trump's Miss Universe pageant in 2015.