After months of speculation, WWE has officially been sold to Endeavor in a blockbuster deal that will see it merge with UFC to form a new publicly traded company. The news broke the Monday morning after WWE WrestleMania 39, similar to how Endeavor’s acquisition of UFC was announced the day after UFC 200. It was briefly addressed in the post-WrestleMania 39 press conference when I asked Paul Heyman, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, and Paul “Triple H” Levesque about it in exchanges that have gone viral.
According to a press release issued by WWE, Endeavor will acquire 51% controlling interest in WWE while WWE shareholders will retain the remaining 49% interest. Ari Emanuel will continue his role as Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor, Vince McMahon will be Executive Chairman of the new company, and Mark Shapiro will be President and Chief Operating Officer of both Endeavor and the new company.
Dana White will remain in his role as President of UFC and Nick Khan will serve as President of WWE. The new Board of Directors will consist of eleven members who are set to be appointed at a later date, six will be appointed by Endeavor, and five by WWE.
The transaction gives WWE an enterprise value of $12.1 billion and pegs UFC at $9.3 billion, meaning the two companies have a combined enterprise value of $21.4 billion. The new umbrella company containing both WWE and UFC has yet to be formally named but it was noted that they have reserved the stock trading symbol TKO.
Fightful is reporting that a WWE employee meeting was held yesterday that was led by Levesque, Khan, and Frank Riddick. In it, it was explained that Endeavor will not be involved in WWE creative or production. Details of how other areas of the company could be affected were not addressed.
Stay with Haus of Wrestling for all the latest regarding Endeavor’s purchase of WWE.