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WME finance chief steps down after only 6 months

The chief financial officer of WME-IMG is stepping down from his post after just six months to become a senior adviser to the company, The Post has learned.

Peter Klein was one of William Morris Endeavor’s first big hires in December after the Hollywood talent agency announced a $2.4 billion takeover of IMG, the sports, fashion and modeling powerhouse.

Klein is “transitioning from his role as CFO to senior advisor” for personal reasons, according to an internal memo announcing his departure on Tuesday.

But insiders said his exit reflects the difficulty the highly indebted company is having in meeting its cost-cutting targets, particularly within the sports agency business.

IMG, established by the late Teddy Forstmann, was acquired earlier this year by WME and private equity firm Silver Lake, which owns 50 percent of the new joint venture.

WME and Silver Lake promised their bank lenders $151 million of cost reductions within the first year to 18 months of ownership.

According to bank documents, the company targeted $14 million in the first six months, and then around $50 million in the following three months.

Klein was the chief financial officer at Microsoft for 11 years until last June. He got to know Silver Lake after he was involved in a deal to acquire Skype from a group of investors that included the PE firm.