On April 3rd, the day following WrestleMania 39, WWE announced a multibillion-dollar merger with the Endeavor Group, resulting in the creation of a new publicly traded company with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel taking on the same role and Vince McMahon being named Executive Chairman. The new company will be 51% owned by Endeavor and 49% owned by WWE shareholders. Both WWE and the UFC will become wholly owned subsidiaries of the new company but will retain their separate brands, leadership teams, and headquarters. The deal is expected to conclude later this year.
After the agreement was made, Vince McMahon wrote a letter to WWE staff to discuss the company’s future. The entirety of the letter can be found below, courtesy of Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
“I’m excited to announce that WWE has entered into a partnership with Endeavor to create a one-of-a-kind company that will bring together two global sports and entertainment powerhouses: WWE and UFC.
The historic alliance of these two formidable institutions has the potential to unlock vast growth opportunities for both organizations and generate opportunities for both organizations and generate an optimal outcome for our employees, shareholders, fans, and other stakeholders. We are huge admirers of the work Endeavor has done to grow the UFC brand, and they will be the perfect partner to help supercharge our growth at WWE.
We are on the cusp of a new golden age for live sports entertainment, and by combining our two iconic and highly complementary properties under one roof, we will be able to fully capitalize on the rapidly expanding, global appetite for live sports events and premium content. We have some of the most engaged, passionate, and fast-growing fan bases in sports, and we are two of the only leagues capable of delivering content and events year-round.
Together, we are a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment colossus with a collective fan base of more than two billion people — and counting. With our decades of combined experience, complementary expertise, and pooled resources, we intended to create and cross-promote more premium live and on-demand content around the world.
As for how this impacts you, following the close of the transaction, we expect to continue to operate largely as we do now. Both WWE and UFC will become wholly owned subsidiaries of the new company but retain our separate brands, as well as our leadership teams and headquarters. I will serve as Executive Chairman of the Board, while Ari Emanuel will become the CEO of the new company and remain CEO of Endeavor.
Mark Shapiro will become President of the new company and also retain his role as President of Endeavor. Nick Khan will serve as WWE President, and Dana White will continue in his role as UFC President. Paul Levesque will remain WWE’s chief content executive.
As of now, we expect the transaction to conclude later this year. In the meantime, it is business as usual here, and this news has no immediate impact on your day-to-day roles or responsibilities.”
For more details concerning the WWE-UFC merger under Endeavor, click here.
