WWE, UFC complete merger under Endeavor, start trading publicly as TKO

Vince McMahon, Triple H, Bianca Belair and Montez Ford were among those on hand for WWE at the NYSE bell-ringing ceremony.

WWE and UFC have now officially joined forces as TKO Group Holdings.

The combination of the world’s leading pro wrestling and MMA organizations under parent company Endeavor, which was first announced in April, was finalized today as stock of the new entity began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “TKO.”

Under the terms of the deal, Endeavor has 51% controlling interest in TKO, while WWE shareholders have 49%. Vince McMahon is now executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO, while Nick Khan, who was CEO of WWE, stays on as WWE president. Dana White will continue to run the MMA side of the company and appears to have received a small upgrade in title as he is now listed as CEO of UFC.

Ari Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, is also CEO of TKO, while several other Endeavor executives have the same c-suite responsibilities over the new company.

“The creation of TKO marks an exciting new chapter for UFC and WWE as leaders in global sports and entertainment,” Emanuel said in a press release. “Given their continued connectivity to the Endeavor network, we are confident in our ability to accelerate their respective growth and unlock long-term sustainable value for shareholders. With UFC and WWE under one roof, we will provide unrivaled experiences for more than a billion passionate fans worldwide.”

TKO stock opened the day at $102, slightly over the closing price for the final day that WWE shares traded on Monday. WWE was represented by McMahon, Khan, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Kevin Dunn, Bianca Belair and Montez Ford for the bell-ringing ceremony at the NYSE, with White and Daniel Cormier among those on the UFC side.