According to a CNBC story, the WWE has apparently been hunting for a buyer for some time and may have found one in Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Group, the parent company of the UFC, know the cost of the deal and the net worth of WWE
According to reports, the deal would increase WWE’s worth to around $9.3 billion. This is consistent with the price Vince McMahon, the owner, is reportedly seeking to sell the WWE for, which was previously rumoured to be $9 billion. What does that mean in terms of recent sales of other sporting brands?
What is the cost of the Endeavor Group acquisition of WWE with UFC parent company set to merge both ventures
The UFC and WME parent company’s workhorse has been Endeavor’s owned sports properties sector. With its owned assets sector bringing in $1.33 billion, up 20% from $1.11 billion in 2021, the multinational sports and entertainment company reported $5.27 billion in full-year revenue, an increase from the $5.08 billion it reported the year before.
World Wrestling Entertainment will be sold – to the company that owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship as the Endeavor Group, helmed by Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel, has taken a majority controlling interest in the WWE.
The two companies will now combine to form a publicly traded enterprise valued at $21.4 billion.
Endeavor Group Holdings Inc will take a 51 per cent stake in the unnamed company, while WWE shareholders will maintain a 40 per cent stake as the company pegs the value of the UFC at $12.1 billion and WWE’s value at $9.3 billion.
Nick Khan and Dana White will remain presidents of UFC and WWE.
The new company plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the “TKO” ticker symbol and its board will have 11 members, with six being appointed by Endeavor and five being appointed by WWE.
Endeavor in 2016 purchased the UFC in a $4.2 billion deal and picked up the rest of the company when it went public in 2021.
Emanuel has transformed Endeavor, which has its roots in representing film and television talent, into a sports and entertainment powerhouse with more than 20 acquisitions and he has invested in bull riding events, fashion shows and the Miami Open and Madrid Open tennis competition
The Walton-Penner group is now in negotiations to purchase the Denver Broncos for $6.5 billion. The Phoenix Suns and Mercury were sold as a package for $4 billion. ESPN reports that the New York Mets were sold for $2.4 billion.
With this agreement, WWE shareholders would receive 49% of the company, while Endeavor would receive 51%. With this agreement, WWE and UFC would become one publicly traded business.
WWE has been doing a fine job.
WWE Friday Night SmackDown on Fox attracted more than 2.25 million viewers in March 2023. On February 12th, 2023, WWE Raw attracted more than 1.8 million members. Several television programmes and other sports leagues could only receive figures like that.
Even though the $9 billion price tag may sound absurdly exorbitant, live events like the WWE Friday Night SmackDown on Fox are currently very desirable to broadcasters since they draw in people live. This indicates that they believe the adverts are increasing ad income. For this reason, Fox is paying WWE SmackDown $205 million annually.
Sports may have unanticipated effects from lead cutting. The cost of sporting rights has soared as sports are one of the few remaining events that people still watch live. Fox, CBS, and NBC recently signed a 7-year, $7 billion media rights agreement with the Big Ten. We’ll have to wait and see if this agreement is finalised later this month for now.
The UFC and WME parent firm has relied heavily on Endeavor’s sector of owned sports franchises.
The multinational sports and entertainment powerhouse recorded $5.27 billion in total revenue for the year, an increase from the $5.08 billion it reported the year before. Its owned assets sector generated $1.33 billion, a 20% increase from $1.11 billion in 2021.
As well as higher sponsorship, licencing, commercial PPV, and event-related revenue from more UFC events with live audiences, the growth is in part credited to “increasing media rights payments at UFC.” The UFC experienced record sponsorship sales volume and 21 straight sold-out events during the year.
Today, @Endeavor announced it has signed an agreement to form a $21+ billion global live sports and entertainment company made up of @UFC and @WWE. https://t.co/lPrkBmKJXm pic.twitter.com/ZBk95c5exU
— Endeavor (@Endeavor) April 3, 2023