WME is set to divest its basketball representation business, and may make a similar move for its baseball representation business, as it navigates some conflicts of interest associated with the firm’s take-private by Silver Lake, which closed last month.
WME will spin out WME Basketball into a new independent venture that will be owned by WME Group executive chairman Ari Emanuel, WME Group president and managing partner Mark Shapiro, and Bill Duffy, whose BDA Sports Management WME acquired in 2023. Duffy, Carlos Fleming, Bret Just and Karen Brodkin will move over to the new company.
The conflict of interest stems from Michael Dell’s family office being a capital investor in the take-private. Dell owns a stake in the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
WME basketball reps some of the biggest names in the sport, including the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic, and the…
