WWE and Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. They are joining forces to form a $21.4 billion (£17.3 billion) sports entertainment conglomerate. According to the agreement, Endeavor will own 51% of the new company. Which has not yet been given a name and existing WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) owners would own 49%.
UFC’s enterprise value was estimated by the corporations to be $12.1 billion, and WWE’s value to be $9.3 billion. Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor. The new business will have Vince McMahon in the same position as his current one as executive chairman of WWE. Both the UFC and WWE will continue to be led by Dana White and Nick Khan, respectively.
The new company’s priority will be on maximizing the value of combined media rights. Enhancing sponsorship monetization, creating new types of content, and pursuing other smart mergers and acquisitions to strengthen their brands.
With athletes like Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey combining their talents, there are existing ties between WWE and UFC. After years of operating as a family-run company. WWE enters a new phase with the help of the Endeavor partnership.
In 1982, McMahon bought Capitol Wrestling from his father and used wrestlers like Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to introduce the local wrestling industry to a national audience. Which later went by the names World Wrestling Entertainment and World Wrestling Federation.
The news of the WWE sale comes after McMahon, the company’s creator, and majority shareholder, visited it in January and hinted that it might be for sale. There were rumors that Endeavor, Disney, Fox, Comcast, Amazon, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund were all interested in purchasing WWE.
McMahon told CNBC that although WWE had several suitors, joining together with Endeavor was the best course of action. “Extracting as much value as we can from the marketplace makes perfect sense for all these synergies that we have,” he said.