Dana White Issues Statement on WWE-UFC Merger
Dana White is impressed with WWE being sold to Endeavor in a deal that will go down as one of the biggest deals in sports entertainment history.
There had been talks of WWE being sold ever since Vince McMahon made his return to the company. It was noted that the 77-year-old came back from retirement to initiate a sale. The global giant Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund were rumored to purchase WWE but the rumors turned out to be false. CNBC recently noted that the company was in advanced talks with Endeavor, the parent company of UFC. A deal was finalized and an official statement was issued on Monday.
It was noted that under the deal, UFC and WWE would be combined into one publicly traded company to be worth around $21 billion. Endeavor purchased 51% of WWE, with 49% being retained by WWE shareholders.
In a statement, Endeavor announced a "definitive agreement" that would see WWE come under the company's ownership in an estimated $9.3 billion deal.
UFC President Dana White issued the following statement after the historical moment in sports entertainment. He said:
"This company has been on fire for the last seven years and now that we will be adding WWE to the portfolio, I am excited to take this to another level. Vince is a savage in the wrestling space, Ari is a beast at what he does, and then add what we at UFC bring to the table and there is no limit to what this company can accomplish in the next five years."
Meanwhile, White will continue as President of UFC, while Nick Khan will serve as President of WWE. Vince McMahon will remain to be the Chairman of the Board of Directors, which will now be comprised of five seats from WWE and six seats from Endeavor.
