With the announcement of the UFC and WWE merger under Endeavor Group Holdings, critics and fans are speculating about the new £17.3 billion sports entertainment brand's path.
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According to the New York Post, Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment is on the verge of being sold to Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Group, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. According to people familiar with the situation, Endeavor is planning to buy WWE in an all-stock transaction. Because the topic is private, the sources requested anonymity. The agreement might be revealed as soon as this week.
According to CNBC, Endeavor shareholders would control 51% of the fighting and entertainment firm, while WWE owners will possess 49%. WWE shares ended at $91.26 on Friday, up more than 30% this year, giving the business a market worth of $6.8 billion. According to Reuters, Endeavor is worth $11.3 billion.
Ari Emanuel, a Hollywood power broker, has sought to build Endeavor into a sports and entertainment powerhouse, acquiring more than 20 acquisitions. His ventures, which included bull riding events, fashion displays, and the Miami Open and Madrid Open tennis tournaments, aimed to broaden the organization, which came from a tradition of promoting cinema and television talent.
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Endeavor did a majority investment in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s largest martial arts organization, for $4.2 billion in 2016, then bought the remaining part of the firm five years later when it went public. Endeavor claims in regulatory papers that it benefits from the growing value of owning a rare – but popular – asset like sports.
WWE said in January that it will investigate strategic options, including a sale, shortly after Vince McMahon’s return to the company. WWE retained the Raine Group and the legal firm Kirkland & Ellis as consultants for the review.
McMahon stepped down as CEO and head of the corporation in July of last year, following an inquiry into his alleged misbehavior. Stephanie McMahon, his daughter, resigned as co-CEO and chair of the corporation less than a week after her father returned to the board.
According to published reports, upon his return, McMahon, who owns the majority of the company’s shares, initiated a strategic review, hoping to arrange a sale before WWE’s media rights, including those for shows like “SmackDown,” came up for renewal.
WWE and the UFC are collaborating owing to Endeavor Group, the UFC’s parent company. The two entertainment warring titans will establish a new firm that will reportedly be valued at more than $21 billion dollars. This is certainly upsetting news for WWE fans, yet it’s not surprising that such a move occurred. The #WWE purchased ECW in 2003, rescuing the organization from bankruptcy. Before that, in 2001, the WWE acquired WCW assets and wrestlers, making it the largest and only wrestling entertainment organization on national television at the time. We’ll have to wait and see what the WWE and #UFC have in store.
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