After months of speculation, the WWE has finally been sold. The company currently running UFC, Endeavor Group Holdings, has purchased a majority stake in WWE. A new publicly traded company will control both the UFC and WWE brands. Endeavor is taking a 51% controlling interest in the new company. WWE shareholders will hold a 49% stake. The valuation of both companies comes in at $12.1 billion for UFC and $9.3 billion for WWE.

That new company currently doesn’t have a name, but they’ll be led by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. Vince McMahon, executive chairman at WWE, will keep his current role at the company. Dana White will continue as president and booker at UFC. Finally, Nick Khan will be the president of WWE.

The board will consist of 11 people, six appointed by Endeavor and five by WWE. The merged company’s name will be announced at a later time. The company will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol TKO.

So for the upper management sections of both companies, this deal doesn’t change much. How it affects the WWE product remains to be seen. They still have deals with Universal on Peacock and Fox and USA for TV.

Vince McMahon had this to say in a statement on Monday.

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.

Later in his statement, McMahon made mention of the focus of the new company, saying that it will look to maximize the value of combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content, and pursue other strategic mergers to bolster its brand.

The Entire McMahon Saga For WWE In A Nutshell

WWE Vince McMahon
Courtesy Of WWE

This new deal ends an era for WWE where it was a family-run business for decades. Ever since Vince purchased Capitol Wrestling from his father in 1982, it’s been in the same hands. He took the company from a small regional promotion to a national/global powerhouse with talents that crossed over into movies, TV, video games, and more.

This announcement comes after Vince’s return to the company to sell it. He originally left after reports came of him using company funds to pay off sexual assault allegations. He “retired” in March 2022 and then resurfaced early in 2023 when the rumors of a sale came up.

In an interview with CNBC, McMahon mentioned whether he still would have sold the company with a scandal or not.

We’ll have to see how this affects fans of the WWE product. For now, it would seem that nothing huge will change.

For more on WWE, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.

Source: CNBC

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