Ari Emanuel, Mark Shapiro and Bill Duffy will acquire WME Basketball from WME Sports and form a new venture as the agency is divesting its basketball representation business, TheWrap has learned.
Duffy will continue to lead day-to-day operations for WME Basketball along with head of basketball marketing Carlos Fleming, head of basketball coaches and executives Bret Just and WME Sports co-head and EVP Karen Brodkin. Emanuel and Shapiro are investing in a personal capacity.
WME will continue to represent retired players and coaches for marketing, broadcast and content opportunities.
“Ari, Bill and I are personally excited about continuing to build upon the success of WME Basketball with the stellar leadership team of Bill, Carlos Fleming, Bret Just and Karen Brodkin, who collectively have built the industry’s leading basketball representation operation,” Shapiro said in a statement.
WME Basketball will keep its current roster of men’s and women’s players, including stars Luka Dončić, Anthony Edwards and Sabrina Ionescu, along with its coaches and front office personnel.
Last year the shareholder that has backed Emanuel, Silver Lake, moved to take Endeavor private. Lately Endeavor has been busy divesting various holdings, including selling IMG, On Location, and Professional Bull Riders to publicly traded TKO, with the aim to re-focus Endeavor back on talent representation. TKO is majority-owned by Endeavor.