In 1989, WMA acquired the Jim Halsey Company. In the early 1990s, WMA's Literary Department announced the largest book-to-screen deal ever inked when it sold the television rights for "Scarlett", the sequel to Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind". In 2000, WMA acquired The Writers Shop, which was owned by Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. In 2003, WMA opened an office in Miami Beach, and in 2004 they opened an office in Shanghai. In 2007, the Agency expanded its London music operation, underscoring WMA's continued commitment to the international marketplace. Along with the addition of new personnel, the London office moved into the iconic Centre Point Tower. In 2003, a seismic shift occurred in the agency landscape when WMA's SVP and Theatre topper, George Lane, and fellow agent in charge of foreign rights, Michael Cardonick, left WMA to open Creative Artists Agency's New York City office and Theatrical Department. On April 27, 2009, WMA and the Endeavor Talent Agency announced that they were merging to form William Morris Endeavor. Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell were widely recognized as the architects of the deal and ultimately took the roles of WME Co-CEOs. Following the official announcement of the merger, nearly 100 WMA employees and former board members were let go. One of those leaving was Jim Wiatt, who came to WMA in 1999 from International Creative Management, where he was Vice-Chairman, in 1999. He had joined WMA as President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, and had risen to Board Chairman. After the merger, WMA relocated its offices to the Endeavor building at 9601 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. The WMA Agent Training Program, often referred to as the "mailroom", was established in the 1940s and is well known for its roster of successful alumni. Since the 1970s the program has been replicated at other talent agencies and studios, many of which were headed by former mailroom trainees. Once accepted, trainees rotate through different departments, starting with the mailroom, before becoming a full-time assistant or coordinator. WMA's longtime competitor, Creative Artists Agency, was founded in 1975 by Michael Ovitz, Ronald Meyer, William Haber, Michael S. Rosenfeld, and Rowland Perkins, all former WMA agent trainees. David Geffen once called the WMA Agent Training Program "The Harvard School of Show Business – only better: no grades, no exams, a small stipend and great placement opportunities."