WME Sells Sports Agency 160over90 to Publicis for $500 Million

WME Group is slimming down: The company is promoting 160over90, its sports activities advertising and marketing and inventive company unit, to French promoting large Publicis Groupe.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Publicis is paying more than $500 million for 160over90, Variety has confirmed. The price ticket was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The deal is topic to the customary closing circumstances including regulatory approvals. Endeavor, the predecessor company of WME Group, acquired 160over90 in 2018 for a reported $200 million.

160over90 has more than 670 workers across the U.S., U.Okay., Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific area. The division has labored on activations for global manufacturers including the NFL’s Super Bowls, the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup.

With 160over90, Publicis said it’ll provide “an end-to-end ecosystem where cultural relevance drives measurable growth.” The company’s Publicis Sports Intelligence platform, powered by Epsilon id, is ready to let entrepreneurs plan, personalize and measure investments and outcomes across media, experiential, content, hospitality, sponsorships, and commerce.

In addition, Publicis is forming a strategic partnership with WME to permit early-stage collaboration between WME’s expertise and IP roster and Publicis to “create opportunities across talent, content financing, and marketing partnerships.” WME expertise shoppers embody Olympic figure-skating gold medalist Alysa Liu, tennis professional Carlos Alcaraz, and actors Teyana Taylor and Michael. B. Jordan.

The mixed Publicis Sports group will report to Suzy Deering, CEO of Publicis Sports, and sit within PMX. Robbie Henchman, most lately president of 160over90, will stay at WME as a senior companion and president of WME’s model illustration enterprise, and oversee the strategic partnership between WME and Publicis.

“After building our industry-leading position in identity resolution, commerce, and creators, our next big bet is sport,” Arthur Sadoun, CEO Publicis Groupe, said in an announcement. In the age of AI, it has turn out to be certainly one of the most high-value channels for shoppers, delivering unparalleled cultural relevance, live engagement, and measurable influence.”

Mark Shapiro, president and managing companion of WME Group, said: “160over90 has earned its reputation as a trusted partner to many of the world’s most influential brands, consistently delivering unique experiences and valuable partnerships on the biggest stages in sports. Combining forces with Publicis Sports will create an unmatched offering for brands looking to move faster and create deeper connections with sports fans, properties, and content. Additionally, WME Group’s new collaboration with Publicis Groupe will deliver more opportunities for our talent and partners to realize their business ambitions at scale.”

Publicis, increasing its transfer in the sports activities sector, last yr acquired Adopt and Bespoke. It also inked a latest partnership with Magic Johnson Enterprises and launched the Influential Sports strategy and expertise follow.