Endeavor Group, a sports media conglomerate, has announced that it will spin out the Ultimate Fighting Championship into a new joint business with the WWE.
The deal will see Endeavor own 51% of the new business, whilst WWE shareholders will retain the other 49%.
The venture between the mixed martial arts company and the pro-wrestling organisation will be worth US$21.4bln, valuing the UFC at US$12.1bln and the WWE at US$9.3bln (including debt).
The deal, which is expected to be finalised later this year, is likely to see cost synergies of between US$50mln-US$100mln.
“This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sport and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed,” said Ariel Emanuel, chief executive at Endeavor.
Emanuel will become chief executive of the new company, while WWE’s creator Vince McMahon will act as chairman – UFC president Dana White will keep his role at the MMA organisation.
WWE revenue reached close to US$1.3bln in 2022, with 80% of sales coming from media rights – much of its TV coverage is sold to Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Fox.
Endeavour also owns IMG, which films events like Premier League matches, DP World Tour golf tournaments and Wimbledon, before distributing them worldwide to broadcasters.
The company also owns Zuffa, a production business used by the UFC.
Yet, while both focus on fighting and there have been a handful of athletes to cross into both businesses, one glaring difference between the two organisations remains – WWE is not real fighting, UFC is.