TKO, the newly formed entity of WWE and UFC, made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. 51% of the organization is owned by Endeavor, with the remaining 49% held by WWE shareholders. The company intends to expand its reach beyond just combat sports through potential mergers and acquisitions.
Executives from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) determined to give their new publically traded entity the name TKO, a nod to the businesses' proficiency in wrestling. On Tuesday, TKO started trading on the New York Stock Exchange, bringing the two live-entertainment giants' merger, which was declared in April, to fruition. The amalgamated company is owned 51% by Endeavor Group Holdings, which keeps UFC and WME (a Hollywood talent agency) among its possessions, and 49% by WWE shareholders, whose stock rose 2.4% on Tuesday.
During the initial 18 months of its existence, Mark Shapiro, TKO's president and COO, informed CNBC, the company will be focused primarily on integrating UFC and WWE, including later jointly marketing international media rights and pooling their production attempts and back offices. After that, the company has strategies to expand via acquisitions, in Shapiro's words, looking “for other sports properties that we can bolt onto the flywheel enhanced by Endeavor.” Endeavor also possesses Professional Bull Riders and two tennis tournaments, the Mutua Madrid Open and the Miami Open.
The 'flywheel', as Shapiro referred to it, includes Endeavor's representation of professional athletes through WME, its know-how in mediating media rights, licensing products and intensifying live events to raise venue fees. He also visualizes direct-to-consumer offerings with TKO that do not yet exist. As for WWE streaming on NBCUniversal's Peacock, a deal that concludes in 2026, Shapiro noted other streaming entities have already expressed an interest in bidding when the time comes. In the near future, TKO executives will also negotiate fresh media deals for WWE's "Raw" and "SmackDown" on traditional pay TV channels at present owned by NBCUniversal and Fox.
Vince McMahon, aged 78, is the executive chairman of TKO, with Ari Emanuel being the CEO. Shapiro made it explicit who was going to be running the business: "Ari Emanuel is taking the lead. Vince is going to have a part to play in terms of his decades of know-how and clout. But the CEO position is solely Ari's". McMahon has achieved notoriety for his strong character as a WWE character and backstage over the course of his forty-plus-year career running WWE. In July of this year, it was reported that federal agents presented a subpoena to McMahon in association with allegations of sexual misconduct - though no charges have been pressed. Shapiro pointed to the fact that Emanuel has already demonstrated his abilities to lead a company whilst working with a co-founder with abundant personality and a dubious background. Dana White, the President of UFC, has weathered a lot of controversies in his personal life - including a video of him slapping his wife - yet managed to stay in his role with scant remorse. "If I left, it would be detrimental to the company, the employees, and the fighters. It would have no effect on me, though. Do I need to act upon this? No. I realise I'm in the wrong here. I take full responsibility for it."
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.
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