Authentic Brands Group, LLC (ABG), the parent of Prince, Tapout, Spyder and other fashion and memorabilia brands, announced the acquisition of Muhammad Ali Enterprises from CORE Media Group. Following the acquisition, ABG will own and manage, in partnership with the Ali family and Joel Weinshanker, Chairman and Founder of National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA), the intellectual property associated with one of the most celebrated and widely recognized athletes and humanitarians of all time.
“We are very proud to welcome Muhammad Ali into the ABG brand portfolio. Together with the Ali family, we intend to build upon Muhammad's core principles to create strategic partnerships which will introduce a broader audience and future generations to Ali's unmatched greatness as both an athlete and an individual.” said James Salter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Authentic Brands Group, LLC.
“Muhammad has always maintained that boxing was just a means to introduce him to the world,” said Lonnie Ali, Muhammad's wife. “As we look towards the future and the potential for Muhammad's positive messages to reach a broader audience, we feel confident that ABG is the right team both to protect and to progress Muhammad's core principles of confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality.”
In connection with the acquisition, ABG will assume global rights to Ali's intellectual property, including the world's largest library of photographic images of Muhammad Ali; a moving image and video collection; Ali's name and likeness; and trademark phrases, including “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” and “The Greatest of All Time”.
Muhammad Ali remains one of the most recognizable men on earth more than fifty years after he emerged as a gold medalist at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Among his countless awards and accolades, he was named Sports Illustrated's “Sportsman of the Century”, GQ's “Athlete of the Century”, is a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Amnesty International Lifetime Achievement Award.
Authentic Brands Group, in partnership with Leonard Green & Partners, is an intellectual property corporation with a mandate to acquire, manage and build long-term value in prominent consumer brands. Headquartered in New York City, ABG's mission is to further enhance brand equity through partnering with best-in-class licensees and retailers. ABG brands include Marilyn Monroe®, Muhammad Ali®, Elvis Presley®, Juicy Couture®, Judith Leiber®, Adrienne Vittadini®, Taryn Rose®, Misook®, Hickey Freeman®, Hart Schaffner Marx®, Palm Beach®, Bobby Jones®, Spyder®, Prince®, Ektelon®, Viking®, TapouT® and Sportcraft®.
