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View Full Version : WWE-UFC Merger Officially Closed, Vince McMahon Comments



Kemo
09-13-2023, 12:05 AM
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WWE will merge with UFC to form TKO, formally removing the McMahon family from controlling power of WWE for the first time ever.
The new TKO organization will trade on the NYSE when then the deal closes.
Vince McMahon will serve as Executive Chairman of the new TKO company, a role that is underneath Endeavor CEO, Ari Emmanuel.

The WWE merger with UFC to form the new TKO Holdings Inc. company under the Endeavor banner is complete. The news was made official this morning and an official press release with comments from Vince McMahon was made available soon after.

“This is the culmination of a decades-long partnership between Endeavor and WWE across strategic initiatives including talent representation and media rights. Given our collaborative, trusted relationship and Endeavor’s incredible track record of success growing UFC, we believe WWE is optimally positioned for future growth and success as part of TKO,” said Vince McMahon, Executive Chairman of TKO. “Our focus remains on delivering for our fans across the globe as we take the business to the next level alongside UFC and Endeavor.”

TKO Group Holdings Leadership Team


Ariel Emanuel, Chief Executive Officer, who continues as Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor;
Mark Shapiro, President and Chief Operating Officer, who continues as President and Chief Operating Officer of Endeavor;
Andrew Schleimer, Chief Financial Officer; and
Seth Krauss, Chief Legal Officer, who continues as Chief Legal Officer of Endeavor.

Dana White is now Chief Executive Officer of UFC and Lawrence Epstein remains Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of UFC. Nick Khan continues at WWE in the role of President.


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The Board of Directors of TKO is led by Vince McMahon as Executive Chairman of the Board and consists of 11 members, including Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Shapiro, and Mr. Khan, in addition to the following directors:


Peter C.B. Bynoe, Senior Advisor at DLA Piper LLP;
Egon P. Durban, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Silver Lake;
Steven R. Koonin, Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta Hawks, LLC;
Jonathan A. Kraft, President of the Kraft Group LLC;
Sonya E. Medina, President and Chief Executive Officer of Reach Resilience;
Nancy R. Tellem, Executive Chairperson and Chief Media Officer of Eko; and
Carrie Wheeler, Chief Executive Officer and a board member of Opendoor Technologies Inc.

WWE announced that Endeavor would be purchasing the company in April of 2023 during WrestleMania weekend. To that point, numerous reports indicated that the company had been up for sale. Endeavor already owned the UFC and the merging of both companies together created a $20 billion dollar media and entertainment entity.

TKO COO Lawrence Epstein said in an interview with ESPN that with the new company he'd like to see a world "where every UFC fan is a WWE fan and every WWE fan is a UFC fan."

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In July of 2022, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon retired from the company amidst a WWE Board of Directors investigation into hush money payments made to women within the company with whom he allegedly had affairs with.

McMahon returned to WWE in January of this year, with the main reason being to facilitate a sale and/or renegotiate the company's next television rights agreements with potential partners.

In the new TKO Holdings company, McMahon will be Executive Chairman and report to Endeavor CEO, Ari Emmanuel. Nick Khan will serve as President of WWE, while Dana White continues his role as President of the UFC.