WWE Has Been Sold To Endeavor

The day after Wrestlemania 39 Night 2, it was announced that WWE was sold to Endeavor. It was first reported yesterday by Alex Sherman of CNBC this deal was going to happen and was going to be announced on Monday.

Today, @Endeavor announced it has signed an agreement to form a $21+ billion global live sports and entertainment company made up of @UFC and @WWE. https://t.co/lPrkBmKJXm pic.twitter.com/ZBk95c5exU

— Endeavor (@Endeavor) April 3, 2023

As Full Press Wrestling reported yesterday along with multiple SEC filings on Monday morning, WWE has agreed to enter into a transaction whereby they sold to Endeavor. As mentioned yesterday, with Endeavor purchasing WWE, UFC and WWE will form a new company that will be publicly traded. In addition, Endeavor will own collectively 51 percent of the fully-diluted voting power of New PubCo and 51 percent of the fully-diluted economic ownership in HoldCo, with stockholders of WWE effectively owning 49 percent.

Endeavor’s owner Ariel Emanuel will remain the owner and chief executive of the new company with Vince McMahon being the second highest-ranking official in the new company. McMahon will remain as the executive chairman of the new company.

As noted yesterday, it is expected that Endeavor President Mark Shapiro will also work in the same role at the new company. Dana White will remain as president of UFC. And WWE CEO Nick Khan will serve as president of the wrestling business.

Around Full Press Coverage

Wrestling: Wrestlemania 39 Night One Delivers From Start To Finish

NFL: Joe Klecko: How Fate Changed My Life … And Sent Me To Canton

WWE: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens Get Their Wrestlemania Moment Together

FULL PRESS HOCKEY: After Trade Deadline, Leafs’ Major Experiments Will Happen on Defense

PODCAST: According To Who? Ep 2: Top 5 Super Bowls Of All Time

WANT MORE PODCASTS? Check Out Some Of The Latest From Around The FPC Network

In a press release this morning, Emanuel talked about what an opportunity it was and the potential reach of this new company:

“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. “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.”

As part of the press release this morning, McMahon said the following:

“Given the incredible work that Ari and Endeavor have done to grow the UFC brand – nearly doubling its revenue over the past seven years – and the immense success we’ve already had in partnering with their team on a number of ventures, I believe that this is without a doubt the best outcome for our shareholders and other stakeholders.

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. 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.”

This is a historic day in the world of sports entertainment. Wrestlemania 39 will be the last Wrestlemania with McMahon at the helm. It will be interesting to see where things go with the TV rights window opening up for both Raw and Smackdown. Not to mention what does this do for Peacock and will WWE go back to PPV as UFC does?

Lots of questions remain, but one thing is for sure the landscape is about to change.

Stay Tuned for more and always keep locked on Full Press Wrestling