Under the TKO Umbrella now the WWE has merged with UFC to form venture which will reach BILLIONS of people around the world but with this dynamic coming together the WWE is now not majority controlled by Vince McMahon who had originally financed the company from his father decades ago.
The long time talked about endeavor is now official and completed. Its majority-stake purchase of the wrestling giant as of Tuesday, ironically the company which also owns TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), and UFC is also called "Endeavor" which is a premium sports and entertainment company again now comprising of TKO, UFC and now WWE.
The shares in the company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange with the opening bell Tuesday, opening at a price of $102 per share. Endeavor owns 51 percent of the newly formed company. McMahon owns 16.4 percent of TKO under terms of the deal.
Endeavor agreed to a deal to acquire a majority stake in WWE in April. The deal placed a $9.3 billion valuation on the world's largest professional wrestling company. As part of the deal, Endeavor agreed to spin off UFC and create a $21 billion combat sports behemoth.
McMahon has owned a controlling stake in WWE since purchasing the company from his father in 1982. The 78-year-old transformed the business, taking it from its regional base and turning it into a national phenomenon.
"The creation of TKO marks an exciting new chapter for UFC and WWE as leaders in global sports and entertainment," Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel said in a statement. "Given their continued connectivity to the Endeavor network, we are confident in our ability to accelerate their respective growth and unlock long-term sustainable value for shareholders. With UFC and WWE under one roof, we will provide unrivaled experiences for more than a billion passionate fans worldwide."
While there have been ebbs and flows, McMahon has found a way to stabilize WWE and ensure it remains atop of the sport. The 1990s challenge from WCW provided fierce competition and AEW's ascent over the last decade has done the same, but WWE is far and away the most valuable promotion on the planet.
McMahon is staying on as executive chairman of TKO holdings and is expected to remain involved in WWE creative decisions. Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, will remain WWE's head of creative.
