Endeavor Group Holdings, mixed martial arts promotion UFC’s parent company, has officially joined forces with professional wrestling promotion powerhouse World Wrestling Entertainment.
As a result of the merger, a new company, called TKO Group, started trading on the New York Stock Exchange as of Tuesday.
“We’re ready to fire out of the gate,” Mark Shapiro, Endeavor’s president and COO, said in a statement. Shapiro is expected to retain his title with the newly formed single entity. Shapiro also laid out the TKO Group’s priorities saying, “But our first mission is to fully capitalize on this insatiable demand for premium content and live events.”
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The new company’s NYSE ticker symbol “TKO” is a reference to “technical knockout,” a term frequently used in combat sports.
Endeavor is expected to have a 51% controlling interest, with WWE shareholders owning the remaining 49% of the new, publicly listed company.
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Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel is set to keep his same role. Meanwhile, WWE’s Vince McMahon will serve as the new firm’s executive chair.
Dana White will be UFC’s CEO, and Nick Khan will transition from WWE’s CEO to the promotion’s president.
In 2016, Endeavor closed a deal to acquire UFC for $4 billion. Endeavor will likely follow the plan the company executed after the UFC takeover in an effort to deliver millions in cost synergies. At some point, WWE is expected to be integrated into Endeavor’s global infrastructure.
Endeavor hopes to increase the U.S. and international media rights for WWE and UFC, both of which are up for renewal. Several major media companies with popular streaming platforms are continuing to express interest in landing the rights to live sporting events. Endeavor is also pushing for a boost in the amount of content at its disposal which could increase sponsorship licensing.
“We will be wringing out cost synergies, but at the same time identifying those areas that are under-monetized or where revenue synergy significantly exists,” Shapiro told The Hollywood Reporter.
“And that’s happening across our domestic and international media rights, our sponsorship and global partnerships, our product licensing, enhancing our live events, through ticket yield, venue fees, and premium experiences and then just overall expanding internationally, all of these businesses and doing it with a halo of the Endeavor flywheel which cannot be underestimated the influence and impact that will bring.”
McMahon announced his return to WWE earlier this year after stepping away from the organization In 2022 amid a misconduct investigation by the company’s board. The investigation concluded in November 2022, WWE said.
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Shapiro said discussions about WWE “Raw” and “Smackdown” rights are already underway.
“We’re having very encouraging conversations with several players and platforms at the moment on WWE ‘Raw’ and ‘Smackdown,’” Shapiro noted. “We’re cautiously optimistic, we’re, in many ways, being valued as a unicorn because we’re a year-round. WWE is a full-calendar, sports and entertainment platform with significant engagement, strong reach and attractive demos. And that bodes well for these conversations and I believe that we’ll have results that are in line with market expectations.”