World Wrestling Entertainment and Endeavor, the parent company that runs mixed martial arts outfit Ultimate Fighting Championship, have confirmed that they will merge to create a $21.4 billion company that will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The move brings together two of the most popular sports and entertainment brands under one umbrella.
Endeavor will have a 51% controlling interest in the new entity while WWE shareholders will retain a 49% stake in the company, which has yet to be named.
The new entity’s board of directors will consist of 11 members — six of whom will be picked by Endeavor and five to be tapped by WWE.
The new company plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the “TKO” ticker symbol.
Ari Emanuel, the super-agent who runs Endeavor, will be CEO of the company while WWE boss Vince McMahon will serve as executive chairman.
Dana White, the president of UFC, will continue in his current role while WWE CEO Nick Khan will keep his title.
“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.
“This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed,” said Emanuel.
“For decades, Vince and his team have demonstrated an incredible track record of innovation and shareholder value creation, and we are confident that Endeavor can deliver significant additional value for shareholders by bringing UFC and WWE together.”
Shares of WWE were trading down by some 6% in pre-market activity on Monday.
Endeavor’s stock was trading at around 2.8% higher before the opening bell.
The announcement 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.
The 77-year-old McMahon retired from WWE in July amid a sexual harassment and hush-money scandal.
McMahon returned in January by exercising his power as majority shareholder — pushing his way back on the board of directors as executive chairman in order to oversee a potential sale of the company.
Last week, WWE said McMahon paid the company back $17.4 million to cover costs related to an investigation into his alleged misconduct.
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 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 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.
With Post wires