Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is bailing out of the pageant business.
Talent agency and marketing firm WME-IMG announced Monday that it acquired the Miss Universe Organization from Trump, just days after the real estate mogul and former reality TV star bought the pageant outright from former co-owner NBC Universal.
Unlike the NBC Universal deal, Trump did not tout the sale on Twitter. But WME-IMG did:
WME | IMG has acquired The Miss Universe Organization, which includes MISS UNIVERSE®, MISS USA®, and MISS TEEN USA®: pic.twitter.com/73KNDsmhMM
— IMG (@IMG) September 14, 2015
Trump took credit for the success of the Miss Universe Organization in a press release.
“I have truly enjoyed owning the MISS UNIVERSE®, MISS USA®, and MISS TEEN USA® pageants,” Trump said in the press release. “When I purchased the pageants many years ago, they were in serious trouble. It has been a great honor making them so successful and I have really enjoyed watching the pageants grow throughout the USA and worldwide. The pageants are now in the hands of a great company that will shepherd them to even greater levels of success.”
The press release did not disclose how much Trump sold the organization for, but the financial disclosure forms he filed earlier this year with the Federal Election Commission valued the company between $5 million and $25 million.
The billionaire presidential candidate tweeted Friday that he “now owns 100%” of the pageant company after buying NBC Universal’s share and settling “all lawsuits against them.” Trump had threatened the company with legal action after it severed its business relationship with him and refused to air the Miss Universe pageant because of Trump’s derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants.
