Lady Gaga's Talent Agency Buys eSports Company

WME | IMG, the international entertainment and sports talent agency whose clients include Lady Gaga, Tom Petty, Peyton Manning, and Venus Williams, is making a major move towards eSports.

This week, the company announced that it had acquired Global eSports Management, a talent agency for competitive gamers. Clients at the firm comprise some of the world's best players, including Jang Min Chul (StarCraft II) and Carlos "Ocelote" Rodriguez (League of Legends).

GEM Co-founders Tobias Sherman and Min-Sik Ko "bring unparalleled industry knowledge and an entrepreneurial spirit to our world-class digital talent offering," WME | IMG COO Jason Lublin said (via Deadline). "We see tremendous growth and opportunity in the eSports space and we're excited to bring this expertise in-house."

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

"By becoming a part of WME | IMG, we can maintain our core values while providing our clients with amazing access and opportunities they won't find anywhere else,” Sherman and Ko said in a joint statement.

According to a report from research company SuperData, more than 70 million people watch eSports worldwide. Marquee events, such as the League of Legends World Championship Finals, tend to draw massive crowds. More than 27 million people tuned in to watch last year's LoL final, which reached 11.2 million concurrent viewers during its peak.