Endeavor
Group Holdings -- the company that owns the UFC -- unveiled plans on
Monday to merge with the pro wrestling league WWE, forming a new global sports entertainment powerhouse.
According to Axios,
UFC and WWE will pursue separate media rights deals for now, but there
is a potential opening for a combined streaming deal down the road.
- Endeavor will hold a 51% controlling interest in the new company, with current WWE shareholders hanging on to a 49% stake.
- Endeavor
CEO Ari Emanuel will lead the new company along with the remaining
Endeavor businesses, which include talent agency WME and management
company IMG; Vince McMahon will serve as the new company's executive
chairman, while Dana White will remain President of UFC.
- The overall merger is expected to close in the second half of 2023.
- WWE's
current streaming deal with Peacock expires in 2026, while UFC's deal
with ESPN and ESPN+ expires in 2025; at that point, the company could
begin a new, unified collaboration.
