WWE and the company that runs the UFC will combine to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company.
A new publicly traded company will be formed that houses the UFC and WWE brands, with Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. taking a 51 percent controlling interest in the new company. Existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49 percent stake.
The companies put the enterprise value of UFC at $12.1 billion and WWE at $9.3 billion.
The new business will be lead by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. Vince McMahon, executive chairman at WWE, will serve in the same role at the new company. Dana White will remain UFC president, and current WWE CEO Nick Khan will be the president of the pro wrestling brand.
“This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed,” Emanuel said in a statement.
The announcement comes after McMahon, the founder and majority shareholder of WWE, returned to the company in January and said that it could be up for sale.
Rumors swirled about who would possibly be interested in buying WWE, with chatter focusing on companies such as Endeavor, Disney, Fox, Comcast, Amazon and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Industry experts had viewed WWE as an attractive acquisition target given its global reach and loyal fanbase, which includes everyone from minors to seniors and a wide range of incomes.
The company held its marquee event, WrestleMania, over the weekend. Last year, WWE booked revenue of $1.3 billion.
The company also is a social media powerhouse. It surpassed 16 billion social video views in the final quarter of last year. It has nearly 94 million YouTube subscribers and has more than 20 million followers on TikTok. Its female wrestlers comprise five out of the top 15 most followed female athletes in the world, across Facebook, Twitter & Instagram, led by former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey with 36.1 million followers.
WWE had more than 7.5 billion digital and social media views in January and February of this year, up 15 percent from the same time frame a year ago.
Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., based in Stamford, Conn., slumped 4 percent before the opening bell Monday. Shares of Endeavor, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., rose 3 percent.
It will mark the end of a 70-year reign for the McMahon family at the head of WWE. McMahon retired from his position in July 2022 after hush money allegations came to light. His daughter Stephanie and Khan served as co-CEOs.
After McMahon left in the wake of the scandal, the WWE announced a total of nearly totaling $20 million in additional payments that hadn’t been accounted for, many of which reportedly were related to the allegations of his sexual misconduct with former employees. The company reportedly had to adjust its financial statements for 2019-2021 because of what the Walll street Journal reported in July 2022 was more than $12 million in hush money payments to four women to cover up “allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.”
McMahon, 77, resumed his duties in January, however, when Stephanie stepped down and he re-signed with the company. McMahon’s contract was reportedly a two-year deal.
White has been mired in his own scandal after video surfaced of him slapping his wife after she struck him in a Mexico nightclub on New Year’s Eve. White offered an apology, but faced no other reprimand for the domestic violence incident caught on camera. The incident forced cable station TBS to push back the launch of White’s Power Slap brand by a week.
