Endeavor
WWE-UFC: How Wall Street Views the Deal So Far
Mixed martial arts powerhouse UFC and sports entertainment giant WWE are betting that they are even stronger together. So executives from UFC owner Endeavor and WWE, fresh off WrestleMania 39 weekend in Los Angeles, stepped into the spotlight to unveil a merger to form a global live sports and entertainment titan, 51 percent controlled by […]
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Endeavor President Says UFC-WWE Merger Will Bolster Its Representation Business
The $21 billion merger of the WWE and UFC will create a sports and entertainment powerhouse, but the companies do not expect to rest on their laurels, Endeavor president and COO Mark Shapiro says. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday after the deal was formally unveiled, Shapiro (who will serve as president and COO […]
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Endeavor’s UFC, WWE to Merge; Ari Emanuel to Serve as CEO, Vince McMahon as Executive Chair
Endeavor Group Holdings and sports entertainment powerhouse WWE made things official on Monday, unveiling a definitive agreement to form a new, publicly listed company consisting of two “iconic, complementary” global sports and entertainment brands: UFC and WWE. Endeavor will hold a 51 percent controlling interest in the new company, with existing WWE shareholders owning a […]
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Endeavor Nears Deal to Buy WWE and Merge It With UFC
Forty-three years after Vince McMahon founded the company now known as the WWE, and 70 years after his father entered the professional wrestling business, the McMahon family appears ready to give up control of their empire, closing in on a multibillion-dollar deal to sell the WWE to Endeavor, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Assuming the […]
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WME Buying Out Stake in BDA Sports Management
WME has unveiled a deal to acquire the remaining stake in BDA Sports Management that it does not already own in the sports representation firm, and plans to make agent Bill Duffy head of the basketball division at WME Sports. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Beverly Hills-based agency earlier bought a minority stake in the […]
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Ari Emanuel: Star Paychecks Aren’t Under Fire Even as Studios Cut Costs
Ari Emanuel is now sleeping eight hours a night, up from four. The Endeavor chief attributes his better night’s sleep to reducing debt at his entertainment, sports and representation firm from $5.43 billion in September to $5.17 billion at the end of last year. “We’ve taken the company from 8x levered to below 4x,” the […]
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Endeavor Invests in Nonfiction Label Asylum Entertainment Group
Endeavor Group Holdings, the owner of WME, UFC and IMG, has made a strategic investment in nonscripted production company Asylum Entertainment Group. With the investment, Asylum, which has a portfolio including The Content Group, Texas Crew Productions, Big City TV, Breaklight Pictures and Audity, will become part of Endeavor’s nonscripted content division. Rebecca Sanhueza, Endeavor’s […]
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Endeavor Quietly Invested in Elon Musk’s Twitter Earlier This Year
Endeavor, the owner of WME and UFC, invested in Twitter earlier this year, a source familiar with the matter confirms to The Hollywood Reporter. The investment would be one of the first since Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired the company late last year. After acquiring Twitter for $44 billion, his family office is said to […]
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Live Events Boost Endeavor, as Ari Emanuel Says Firm Is “Well-Positioned” Even if Writers Strike
Endeavor Group Holdings, the owner of WME, UFC, IMG and other ventures, reported revenue of $1.26 billion in its fourth-quarter earnings, reflecting growth at its three operating units: owned sports, events and experiences, and representation. The company once again reported a loss in the quarter, of $226 million, though Endeavor notes that it also made […]
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Endeavor Hires IMG’s Maura McGreevy for Top Communications Role
Endeavor has named Maura McGreevy, most recently the head of communications at Endeavor subsidiary IMG, to the company’s top communications role. McGreevy will take over the position from longtime executive Christian Muirhead, who oversaw communications for Endeavor since 2014. In September, Muirhead was promoted to co-chairman of WME, along with WME partner Richard Weitz. The […]
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FTX Bankruptcy: Endeavor, Tom Brady Among Investors Caught In Fallout
Fallout from the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is impacting Hollywood. Not only have the tens of millions of dollars FTX spent on advertising gone up in smoke (don’t expect this year’s Super Bowl to have the crypto enthusiasm that swept last year’s broadcast), but a new bankruptcy filing shows that a bevy of high-profile people […]
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WME Promotes Five Across Film Sales, Production (Exclusive)
WME has made five key promotions in its Independent group and film production department. The Hollywood agency has promoted Dylan Kelley and Daniel Rak to agent, and Durrana Subat to associate counsel, business affairs within the WME Independent group. Additionally, Sara Malinow and Sarah Hurley, from the agency’s production department, have been upped to agent. […]
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