Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., the majority shareholder of TKO Group Holdings which in turns owns WWE and UFC, has announced it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Silver Lake, a leading technology-investment company. Under the terms of the deal, which was announced on April 2nd, Silver Lake will acquire 100% of the shares of Endeavor that it does not currently own. The total value of Endeavor under the deal is $13 Billion USD, making this the largest ever public-to-private investment transaction in the entertainment industry.
The transaction builds on a history of investments that Silver Lake has made in Endeavor since 2012, including supporting Endeavor’s acquisition of UFC in 2016 and the merger of UFC and WWE in 2023 through the formation of TKO.
About the sale, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said, “We believe this transaction will maximize value for all of Endeavor’s public stockholders and are excited to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company,” according to the press release.
TKO is not party to the sale of Endeavor and will remain a publicly-traded corporation.
In related news, over the past week, Endeavor entered into two stock purchase agreements with former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, which will see the company purchase 3.5 million of McMahon’s shares in TKO for $311.2 Million USD, with both sales to close within the next few days.
The transactions mark the third significant dispositions of TKO stock by McMahon in recent months, and second since the news of allegations against him by a former employee of sex trafficking.
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