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Endeavor, the Hollywood expertise big that owns the artwork honest and media firm Frieze, has acquired World Wrestling Leisure (WWE) in a $9.3bn deal that can see the wrestling promotion agency be part of forces with one other Endeavor-owned fight sports activities firm in a merger value greater than $21bn.
Endeavor introduced this week it has signed a deal to type a brand new sports activities and leisure firm by buying WWE and merging it with the Final Combating Championship (UFC), a combined martial arts firm Endeavor acquired in 2016. Final yr, the 2 corporations collectively made $2.4b in income and have loved a ten% annual income development price since 2019, in accordance with Endeavor.
After the deal closes, Endeavor will maintain a 51% controlling stake within the new firm, whereas WWE’s shareholders will maintain 49%. The deal is predicted to shut within the second half of the yr, in accordance with Endeavor.
The brand new firm—which has not been named however intends to commerce on the New York Inventory Alternate (NYSE) underneath the ticker image “TKO”, which can also be an abbreviation for the combat time period “technical knockout”—shall be led by Endeavor boss and artwork collector Ari Emanuel as chief govt, whereas WWE’s Vince McMahon will function the board’s govt chairman.
It’s the newest high-profile acquisition by Endeavor, which first bought a 70% stake in Frieze in 2016, the identical yr the corporate bought shares in UFC (final yr, Endeavor purchased out UFC). Since Endeavor acquired Frieze, the artwork media firm has expanded with new festivals in Los Angeles (the place Endeavor relies) and Seoul.
“I wished the corporate Endeavor to be a cultural ambassador—for those who’re going to be an envoy for tradition, the centre of that’s artwork,” Emanuel informed Vainness Honest final yr, including that the significance of artwork in his trade is one thing that may’t be measured by financial income and losses alone.
Frieze introduced in 2020 that Simon Fox, a former British media govt, would take over because the agency’s first chief govt officer. Together with its 4 worldwide artwork festivals, Frieze’s enterprise consists of media manufacturing, music performances and an artwork publication.
In 2021, Endeavor went public with an preliminary public providing on the NYSE. Endeavor made headlines in 2019 after the corporate returned a $400m funding from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund over the killing of The Washington Put up journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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