LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — ICM Partners announced the acquisition of the influential London-based sports agency Stellar Group, which will become ICM’s new sports division, ICM Stellar Sports.
Stellar Group is one the world’s leading sports agencies with offices in more than 10 countries, including the UK and U.S., and more than 130 employees worldwide. Stellar represents more than 800 athletes, with aggregate contracts worth almost $3 billion, according to ICM Partners.
ICM has also signed long-term contracts with veteran sports agent and Stellar co-founder Jonathan Barnett, who will become Executive Chairman of ICM Stellar Sports.
Stellar co-founder David Manasseh has also signed on to join the ICM team and has been named Executive Chairman of ICM Stellar Sports with Barnett. The two will continue to oversee day-to-day at the sports division.
ICM Partners’ Managing Director Ted Chervin was appointed as Chairman of ICM Stellar Sports and will oversee the sports division in coordination with the rest of ICM Partners business interests with an eye towards developing new business opportunities in North America.
Jonathan Perelman, who has previously overseen ICM’s Digital Department and Speakers Bureau, was named President of the new sports division.
Following the acquisition, all Stellar Group employees will join ICM Stellar Sports and continue to operate the agency as before, ICM Partners said.
“With connectivity speeding the process, the sports, entertainment, music, media and publishing worlds have converged. Clients have greater opportunities than ever before to be multi-dimensional, multi-media brands. Aligning our wonderful and talented entertainment clients with Stellar’s premiere athletes is a powerful combination. Together we will be even better positioned to maximize this convergence and generate tremendous creative opportunities and financial upside for our global client base. In Jonathan Barnett, David Manasseh and the Stellar Group we have found the perfect partners and together we look forward to advancing our clients aspirations across the world,” said ICM Partners’ CEO Chris Silbermann.
“In Chris Silbermann and ICM Partners we have found the ideal partner to help our clients further their earning potential in an ever flattening world where athletes are brands with global appeal across numerous off the field revenue streams, which ICM will help us cultivate and exploit. They share our enthusiasm to enrich our clients’ opportunities as well as expand our North American representation business which is very exciting for us,” added Barnett.
“We did this deal to give our clients greater access to opportunities across the spectrum of sports, entertainment and branding to give us the resources to further grow our business to better represent those clients,” said Manasseh.
