UFC, WWE combine to form $21.4B sports entertainment company
WWE and the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship will combine to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company.
A new publicly traded company will house UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment brands, with Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. taking a 51% controlling interest in the new company. Existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% stake.
The companies put the enterprise value of UFC at $12.1 billion and WWE’s value at $9.3 billion.
The new business, which does not yet have a name, 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 continue as president of UFC and Nick Khan will be president at WWE.
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
A WrestleMania sign hangs over the crowd during the WWE Monday Night RAW event, Monday, March 6, 2023, in Boston.Â
“Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity,” McMahon said in a prepared statement Monday.
He also provided some idea of where the focus of the new company will be, saying that it will look to maximize the value of combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content and pursue other strategic mergers and acquisitions to further bolster their brands.
A synergy already exists talent wise between WWE and UFC, with stars such as Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey crossing over between the two businesses.
The deal between Endeavor and WWE catapults WWE into a new era, after functioning as a family-run business for decades. McMahon purchased Capitol Wrestling from his father in 1982, and took the regional wrestling business to a national audience with the likes of wrestling stars such as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The company, which changed its name to World Wrestling Federation and later World Wrestling Entertainment, hosted its first WrestleMania in 1985.
The announcement of the WWE transaction arrives 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 Endeavor, Disney, Fox, Comcast, Amazon and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund all in the mix.
Media industry analysts viewed WWE as an attractive 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 is also 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 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% from the same time frame a year ago.
The new company plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the “TKO” ticker symbol. Its board will have 11 members, with six being appointed by Endeavor and five being appointed by WWE.
“We like the assets of UFC and also WWE in a world where linear TV is losing market share to streaming, thus live sport content is in high demand,” wrote Jeffries analyst Randal Konik said in a note to clients.
The transaction, which was approved by the boards of Endeavor and WWE, is targeted to close in the second half of the year. It still needs regulatory approval.
Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., based in Stamford, Connecticut, are up 33% this year, but fell more than 6% before the opening bell on Monday. Shares of Endeavor, based in Beverly Hills, California, rose more than 4%.
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UFC, WWE combine to form $21.4B sports entertainment companyMoses Robinson // Getty Images
World Wrestling Entertainment has been around since 1953. But it wasn't until 2002 that it changed its name to the iconic WWE, after the World Wrestling Federation lost a lawsuit against the World Wildlife Fund for rights to the WWF trademark. The rebrand was actually a blessing in disguise, as it gave the pro wrestling promotion an opportunity to focus on its entertainment endeavors.
"As World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, we have entertained millions of fans around the United States and around the globe," former WWE CEO Linda McMahon said in a 2002 press release. "Our new name puts the emphasis on the 'E' for entertainment, what our company does best. WWE provides us with a global identity that is distinct and unencumbered, which is critical to our U.S. and international growth plans."
In the 20 years that have followed, WWE has become a household name, and currently can be viewed in more than 1 billion homes throughout the world, airing in 30 different languages. In addition to producing some of the world's best professional wrestlers, stars like John Cena and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson have also gone on to become highly successful actors, which gives the WWE an even bigger cultural net.
But hardcore WWE fans are all about the kayfabe and wrestling, and there's been some exciting characters to watch in the nearly 70 years since the promotion launched. In 1981, Rick Martel stunned the world by winning a record-setting 219 matches in a single year. Meanwhile, Sheamus holds the post-WWE record, with 193 wins in 2012. Though impressive feats, neither wrestler made the list of most overall wins.
In the below data visualization, Stacker ranked the 12 WWE wrestlers with the most match wins of all time as of Aug. 2, 2022, using data from Cagematch. Data dates back through the WWE's lineage to 1957, which is the earliest year for which Cagematch has win-loss data.
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Moses Robinson // Getty ImagesWorld Wrestling Entertainment has been around since 1953. But it wasn't until 2002 that it changed its name to the iconic WWE, after the World Wrestling Federation lost a lawsuit against the World Wildlife Fund for rights to the WWF trademark. The rebrand was actually a blessing in disguise, as it gave the pro wrestling promotion an opportunity to focus on its entertainment endeavors.
"As World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, we have entertained millions of fans around the United States and around the globe," former WWE CEO Linda McMahon said in a 2002 press release. "Our new name puts the emphasis on the 'E' for entertainment, what our company does best. WWE provides us with a global identity that is distinct and unencumbered, which is critical to our U.S. and international growth plans."
In the 20 years that have followed, WWE has become a household name, and currently can be viewed in more than 1 billion homes throughout the world, airing in 30 different languages. In addition to producing some of the world's best professional wrestlers, stars like John Cena and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson have also gone on to become highly successful actors, which gives the WWE an even bigger cultural net.
But hardcore WWE fans are all about the kayfabe and wrestling, and there's been some exciting characters to watch in the nearly 70 years since the promotion launched. In 1981, Rick Martel stunned the world by winning a record-setting 219 matches in a single year. Meanwhile, Sheamus holds the post-WWE record, with 193 wins in 2012. Though impressive feats, neither wrestler made the list of most overall wins.
In the below data visualization, Stacker ranked the 12 WWE wrestlers with the most match wins of all time as of Aug. 2, 2022, using data from Cagematch. Data dates back through the WWE's lineage to 1957, which is the earliest year for which Cagematch has win-loss data.
You may also like: How many Olympic athletes hail from every state in the US
