William Morris-Endeavor Merger Goes Through
By Rachel Deahl -- Publishers Weekly, 4/28/2009 7:43:00 AM
After months of speculation, two of the most powerful Hollywood talent agencies, William Morris and Endeavor, have made their plans to merge official. The new agency, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment or WME, will be overseen by a four-person team with William Morris's Jim Wiatt as chairman and, as co-CEOs, WM's Dave Wirtschafter and Endeavor's Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell.
The nine-member board of WME will include, along with the aforementioned execs, John Fogelman, Peter Grosslight, Rick Rosen, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and Adam Venit. Although nothing about the new company will be finalized until the Justice Department approves the merger, it looks like Walsh and Suzanne Gluck--currently co-heads of WM's literary division--will remain at the helm of the merged company's lit operations.
Although a rep at WM could not confirm how many authors and literary agents will be part of the newly minted WME, WM maintains one of the largest literary divisions in town. WM has 11 Pulitzer-winning clients and, since 2002, its clients have produced 550 New York Times bestsellers. The agency also has 97 of its clients book titles currently under option for film and television.
