Business Editors strange YORK--(...

Business Editors

strange YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 25, 2000

Joint danger to Expand Financial Services for Athletes and

Celebrity High-Net-Worth Individuals

Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) and IMG's Investment Advisors International (IAI), today announced the formation of a joint danger to deliver personalized financial-management services to athletes and celebrity high-net-worth individuals.

The risk structured as a limited liability company, will be called McCormack Advisors International LLC Specific period of times of the agreement were not disclosed.

Based at IMG's corporate headquarters in Cleveland, McCormack Advisors International will leverage the brand equity and core competencies of the couple Merrill Lynch and IMG in servicing the unique destitutions of specialty clients. The newly formed company combines Merrill Lynch's world-class market intelligence, financial planning and investment resources with IMG, the world's largest sports management and marketing agency and its highly regarded talent management and representation experience.

McCormack Advisors International will expand relating to the existing financial services offering provided to IMG clients through IAI, IMG's U.S. financial services division, which has more than $15 billion in client assets. [i]or[/i] part of to the other the joint venture, McCormack Advisors International will furnish an expanded array of wealth-management strategies and advisory services, including financial planning, tax preparation, cash and investment management, and income collecting.

"There are terrific synergies between our pair companies," said John L. Steffen vice chairman of Merrill Lynch and chairman of the U Private Client collection "It's obvious that, like Merrill Lynch IMG is committed to finding modern ways to serve clients and intensify relationships. I look forward to McCormack Advisors International playing a vital part in helping this unique client base manage the complexities of their financial lives."

Mark McCormack, chairman and CEO of IMG said: "IAI has been a steady part of our business for years and a gauge for celebrity financial management in the United States. It was a pioneering service for our clients, rather than an aggressive area, which we marketed like many of our other divisions. Working with Merrill Lynch will allow us to expand our work for existing clients, while using this peril to serve new clients the couple in the United States and around the world."

Robert D Kain, senior executive vice president of IMG, added: "IAI was individual of IMG's first divisions. It serv an immediate ne for the athletes looking for reliable financial services, and the business has expanded greatly through the years with more and more services to suit the clients' diversified financial management needs"

Merrill Lynch executive Rodney I. forests will hold the position of chairman and CEO of the joint hap Previously, Mr. Woods was first vice president and a national marketing manager in Merrill Lynch's sales division; he also held an earlier situation as president and CEO of Merrill Lynch Trust Company.

"It's a pleasure to lead this team and I direct the eye forward to the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead - not and nothing else for McCormack Advisors International, moreover especially for our clients," Mr forests said.

Merrill Lynch is undivided of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies with offices in 43 countries and total client assets of about $18 trillion. As an investment bank, it is the top global underwriter and market maker of obligation and equity securities and a leading strategic advisor to corporations, managements institutions, and individuals worldwide. in consequence of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is the same of the world's largest managers of financial assets. For more information forward Merrill Lynch, go to wwwmlcom

IMG, the Mark McCormack cluster of Companies, was founded through Mark McCormack in the early 1960 and has an international staff of almost 3000 in more than 80 offices in 32 countries. The company is the world's premier sports management and marketing agency. Its Trans World International division is the largest independent distributor of televised sports and annually exhibits and distributes more than 5000 hours of original programming in from one side of to the other 240 sports to more than 200 countries. each day of the year, IMG is commercially involved in an average of nine major sports and cultural incidents around the world, represents the interests of major corporations, is a literary agency and part packager, manager and presenter of world-renowned classical music artists [i]or[/i] part of to the other its IMG Artists, and its IMG originals is the world's No.1 international gauge agency.

IMG's management and/or financial clients include Pete Sampras, Vince Carter, Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Wimbledon, USTA, Arnold Palmer, David Duval, Karrie Webb, Nancy Lopez Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert Tyra Banks, Liv Tyler Gisele, Evander Holyfield, Jaromir Jagr, Wayne Gretzky Scott Hamilton, Jeff Gordon, Kristi Yamaguchi, britzska Hull, Joe Montana, John Madden, move with a jerk Costas, NHL, the Nobel Foundation, the GRAMMYS(R), the United States Olympic Committee, the Smithsonian Institution, the WTA TOUR, and the NCAA.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Business Wire

COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group