With the WWE, in advanced talks to be sold to Endeavor Group, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the wrestling world is swirling with speculation over what the move could mean for both the company and the industry, with huge ramifications to be felt for years to come.
One question, of course, has come up immediately: What is going to happen to the 10-year WWE-Saudi Arabia deal? After all, the move would reportedly leave Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel as the ultimate boss of WWE and UFC both in a new joint company, and Emanuel has allegedly halted dealings with Saudi Arabia in the past.
In 2019. Emanuel’s firm returned a $400 million investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, ending Endeavor’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, as reported by the New York Times at the time.
On Wresting Observer Radio overnight, pro wrestling and combat sports journalist Dave Meltzer speculated that this could prove to be a contributing factor in any rethinking of the current deal that WWE has to run two major Premium Live Events in the Kingdom per year, for a steady sum of tens of millions of dollars per event.
Meltzer speculated that while the deal could be cancelled, most likely they would see through the current commitment and then opt not to renew, but with years off in that deal, anything could of course still happen.
It was reported earlier this year that Saudi Arabia was going to buy the company itself, a report that has turned out false, and while it has been reportedly one of the key suitors since, that deal did not end up coming to fruition.
Inside the WWE/UFC Endeavor deal
The deal would create a new publicly traded company, with Endeavor owning 51% and shareholders getting 49%. The acquisition would value the company at $9.3 billion and the deal may be announced as early as Monday.
Endeavor CEO, Ari Emanuel, is expected to act as chief executive of both Endeavor and the new company, while Vince McMahon, who is the controlling shareholder in WWE, will be the executive chairman. Dana White, the current president of UFC, will remain in his role, and WWE CEO, Nick Khan, will become the president of the wrestling business.
The development comes at the same time the company hosts its flagship live event, WrestleMania, in Los Angeles. The company has been looking for a buyer for several months and McMahon returned as chairman in January to oversee the process. Shares have risen by over 33 percent this year, giving it a market value of over $6.79 billion.
The acquisition would end the company’s status as a family-run business, with McMahon’s father having founded the company in the middle of the 20th century. Since then, the company has grown into a global phenomenon, with huge reach here in the Middle East, as it airs on MBC.
The new company would bring together WWE’s robust media and live events business with UFC’s sports business. Endeavor’s market cap stood at about $10.53 billion as of Friday’s close, and the Endeavor-WWE deal values UFC at more than $12 billion.
At first glance, the firm would appear to fit well with the cultures at Endeavor and UFC, with McMahon’s brash public persona and Emanuel and White’s outsized personalities, according to CNBC News. However, both McMahon and White have also faced scandals, with McMahon having retired in July following revelations of alleged affairs and misconduct, and White having apologized for slapping his wife during a public argument at a New Year’s Eve party in Mexico earlier this year.
Stay tuned as all the details roll out officially.