The controversial business mogul turned presidential candidate officially announced that he now owns Miss Universe 100 percent after buying NBC's share of the organization. In his tweet, first reported by the Entertainment Weekly, Trump teased by ending his post with "stay tuned."
Now here comes another development. Trump is reportedly in talks with Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell of WME/IMG regarding the selling of the Miss Universe organization 100 percent. According to insiders who have spoken with Bloomberg News on condition of anonymity, IMG, which is now under the ownership of William Morris Endeavour Entertainment LLC and Silver Lake Management, is interested in owning the whole company instead of just owning a share. The report was not clear whether Trump was the one who approached the company to sell Miss Universe after buying it from NBC or it was IMG which approached Trump and offer to buy the organization entirely.
If IMG, indeed, acquire Miss Universe, it sets a trend for a new business model, Kyell Thomas, head of entertainment at Octagon, a sports and entertainment company told Bloomberg.
"At the end of the day, Miss Universe is a media property. There aren't too many properties that come up that have name recognition and global scale. Now you have a major talent agency acquiring a media property rather than representing it. To me, that's a further test of the model they're trying to create," Kyell told Bloomberg.
Reports of IMG's interest on Trump's share of Miss Universe emerged mid-August in the wakes of the candidate's controversial racist comment about Mexicans. The derogatory statement was made during his official launch of the presidential bid. As a result, NBC and Univision decided not to air Miss Universe.
Around this time, Trump was only hoping to sell his 49 percent share of the Miss Universe organization. Page Six exclusively reported at the time that Emanuel and Whitesell were among the top bidders. According to people familiar with the event, Trump had his eyes already set for IMG.
"Donald Trump is looking to sell his 49 percent share of Miss Universe. Ari Emanuel and IMG are interested in buying, although there are other bidders. The deal isn't done yet," a source told Page Six at the time.
"This comes after NBC decided to sever its business ties with Trump. They cannot continue as partners, and everyone agrees it is the best move to ensure the continuation of the pageant," the source explained.