After months of speculation that WWE was up for sale, a report has a deal possibly being announced on Monday.
According to Alex Sherman at CNBC, WWE is set to merge with Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor, parent company of (among other assets) the UFC.
Via CNBC:
A deal could be announced as soon as Monday. UFC and WWE are expected to form a new publicly traded company as part of the agreement, according to the people, who declined to be named due to the confidential nature of the discussions.
As for how the new corporate structure would look, Endeavor would come out with controlling interest, while Dana White would remain in his current UFC role.
Endeavor is slated to own 51% of the new combat sports and entertainment company, while WWE shareholders would get 49%, according to the people. The Endeavor deal gives WWE an enterprise value of $9.3 billion, they said.
Emanuel, a media executive, is expected to act as chief executive of both Endeavor and the new company. McMahon, likewise, is expected to be executive chairman, while Endeavor President Mark Shapiro will also work in the same role at the new company. Dana White will remain as president of UFC, while WWE CEO Nick Khan will serve as president of the wrestling business.
This move obviously has wide-reaching implications for the media world. ESPN currently has the rights to UFC fights, while in recent years (right up through this weekend’s Wrestlemania) they’ve shown much more willingness to cover WWE events. There’s a non-zero chance they’d look to further strengthen that relationship should WWE rights ever hit the market again, although obviously that’s speculation.
McMahon, meanwhile, gets to cash out while still remaining involved (the Succession parallels here are truly something), and we will presumably get even more blurred lines between the world of MMA and the world of professional wrestling.
What a huge deal. And, aside from all else: this news getting out ahead of night two of Wrestlemania, on an evening with little sports competition (regular season NBA/MLB, sure, but the women’s title game will be over and we’re on an off-day for the Final Four) is masterful messaging.
[CNBC]
