Global sports and entertainment company, Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR), has reached an agreement to sell its subsidiary IMG Academy, a top global sports education institution, to BPEA EQT, a subsidiary of private equity group EQT, in collaboration with Nord Anglia Education.
The all-cash transaction is valued at $1.25 billion and is expected to be completed in Q3 of this year. EQT is one of the largest private equity firms globally, with investments across healthcare, education, and technology in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
The deal will also see the partnership of IMG Academy with Nord Anglia Education, which operates more than 80 leading international schools in 33 countries and has strong ties with academic organizations such as MIT and The Juilliard School to provide specialized curricula.
Jack Hennessy, Partner and Co-Head of Education within BPEA EQT’s Advisory Team, said, “We are deeply impressed by IMG Academy’s unique offering and its world-class sports and wellbeing curriculum. IMG Academy’s brand is globally recognized and we see compelling opportunities in supporting its international expansion, including Asia, and broadening its educational offering, leveraging BPEA EQT’s insights from having led Nord Anglia Education’s growth in the region.”
IMG played a major part in college recruiting.
IMG Academy, which is based in Bradenton, Florida, was originally founded in 1978 as the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, and was acquired by IMG in 1987. Since then, the Academy has expanded its sports programs to include golf, soccer, baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, track & field, and volleyball.
After Endeavor acquired IMG in 2014, the company continued to expand both its on-campus and online offerings, supporting student-athletes through a sports-focused boarding school, sports camps, online coaching, and online college recruiting. IMG Academy is a leader in the sports education market, helping more than 30,000 students secure college sports placements in 2022 alone, and serving over 100,000 student-athletes in total.
Youth Sports continue to be commercialized and athlete investors have entered the IMG deal.
