(Bloomberg) -- Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. has agreed to sell OpenBet and IMG Arena in a management buyout backed by Ari Emanuel, with participation from OpenBet executives including Chief Executive Officer Jordan Levin.
The buyout group, OB Global Holdings LLC, will acquire the sports data and technology business for about $450 million, according to a securities filing on Tuesday. The purchase consists of a $100 million cash payment and an unsecured promissory note for $350 million.
Endeavor had acquired OpenBet in 2022 for about $800 million. OpenBet is a sports data and technology service, and IMG Arena delivers live streaming and data from sporting events.
The transaction is part of the previously announced buyout being led by private equity group Silver Lake Management, which values the WME owner at $13 billion.
Hollywood superagent Emanuel is raising money to buy live-entertainment businesses, including potentially some divisions of his own company, according to people with knowledge of the matter. He has already raised more than $100 million from backers including alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management Inc., Bloomberg has reported. He has expressed interest in the Miami Open, Madrid Open and Frieze Art Fair.
Endeavor acquired dozens of businesses over the last decade as Emanuel transformed the company from a Hollywood talent agency into a sprawling business that stretches across sports, fashion, cooking and art. Its biggest deals were for the mixed martial arts league UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment.
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