As expected, WWE announced today that WrestleMania 39, which wrapped up last night at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, was the most successful version of its flagship event ever. Yet that was only the second-biggest news of the morning.
Confirming reports over the weekend from CNBC, Endeavor announced an agreement to acquire WWE and merge it with global MMA leader UFC to create a new, publicly traded company. When the deal is complete, Endeavor will control 51% of the new company with WWE shareholders retaining 49% interest.
While the name of the new company was not announced, apparently because it’s yet to be finalized, it will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “TKO.”
“This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed,” said Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, in a press release. Emanuel will serve as CEO of the new company while maintaining his role at Endeavor.
The announcement answered one of the biggest questions surrounding any WWE sale: Vince McMahon will stay on, at least in the near term, as executive chairman of the merged entity. Dana White will continue to oversee UFC as president, with current WWE CEO Nick Khan becoming WWE president.
“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,” Emanuel said.
“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 press release. “The new company will be well positioned to maximize the value of our combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content and pursue other strategic mergers and acquisitions to further bolster our strong stable of brands. I, along with the current WWE management team, look forward to working closely with Ari and the Endeavor and UFC teams to take the businesses to the next level.”
The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2023, leaving plenty of time for speculation about what may change for WWE going forward. One of the first orders of business in the meantime will be new WWE media rights deals, which may be easier to close now that its future is no longer unknown.
Suffice it to say that while the WrestleMania announcement proved it was business as usual for WWE, the other one was anything but — and signals the start of a legitimate new era for the business.