William Morris and Silver Lake to buy talent company IMG

Talent agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC and its backer, private equity firm Silver Lake, will acquire IMG Worldwide, which is known for representing star athletes, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday.

Reuters previously reported the deal to be worth about $2.3 billion.

IMG, whose clients include top tennis player Novak Djokovic and supermodel Gisele Bundchen, would be a significant boost to William Morris, which already represents some of Hollywood's biggest actors.

The sale of IMG was driven by the trustee running the estate of Teddy Forstmann, whose private equity firm, Forstmann Little & Co, acquired IMG for $750 million in 2004.

William Morris beat out a consortium of talent agency ICM Partners Inc and private equity fund manager Carlyle Group LP, which were also finalists in the sales auction. Also bidding was buyout firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd, which had teamed up with Chernin Group LLC, Reuters had previously reported.