WWE reportedly close to being sold to Endeavor

[Evil Vito]

Would be turning WWE and UFC into a combined, publicly traded company

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Scoop details: UFC and WWE are expected to form a new publicly traded company as part of the agreement.<br><br>This allows WWE to follow the Endeavor/UFC playbook, which has been very lucrative/effective. <a href="https://t.co/UP60LfmaWO">https://t.co/UP60LfmaWO</a></p>&mdash; Alex Sherman (@sherman4949) <a href="https://twitter.com/sherman4949/status/1642625089425244162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Destor]

*ahem*

[ron the dial]

what is the "endeavor/ufc playbook?"

[Frank Drebin]

Better than the Saudis.

[Frank Drebin]

what is the "endeavor/ufc playbook?"

+1

[ClockShot]

Clicking around, sounds like Endeavor is only buying 51% of the company.

Wouldn't be surprised if Vince won't let it go and he's got the other 49%.

[Destor]

Clicking around, sounds like Endeavor is only buying 51% of the company.

Wouldn't be surprised if Vince won't let it go and he's got the other 49%.vince owns 51%

[Sepholio]

This should be....interesting.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Will this change anything about the WWE at all?

[Sepholio]

Gonna laugh when we get a bunch of tweetz tomorrow about "plans change" though.

[Frank Drebin]

Can't wait for a real Forbidden Door PPV where Punk fights Jon Jones and Bart Gunn fights Tito Ortiz.

[Evil Vito]

Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment is in advanced talks to be sold to Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Group, the parent company of UFC, according to people familiar with the matter.

A deal could be announced as soon as Monday. UFC and WWE are expected to form a new publicly traded company as part of the agreement, according to the people, who declined to be named due to the confidential nature of the discussions.

Endeavor is slated to own 51% of the new combat sports and entertainment company, while WWE shareholders would get 49%, according to the people. The Endeavor deal gives WWE an enterprise value of $9.3 billion, they said.

Emanuel, a media executive, is expected to act as chief executive of both Endeavor and the new company. McMahon, likewise, is expected to be executive chairman, while Endeavor President Mark Shapiro will also work in the same role at the new company. Dana White will remain as president of UFC, while WWE CEO Nick Khan will serve as president of the wrestling business.

The development comes during the same weekend WWE hosts its flagship live event, WrestleMania, in California. The company has spent the past several months looking for a buyer. McMahon returned to the company as chairman in January to oversee the process. Shares of WWE are up more than 33% so far this year, giving it a market value of more than $6.79 billion.

The deal will effectively end WWE’s decades-old status as a family-run business. McMahon’s father founded WWE in its original incarnation during the middle of the 20th century, and McMahon is the controlling shareholder in the company. McMahon bought the company from his father in 1982. Since then, the company has grown into a global phenomenon, spawing stars suck as Hulk Hogan, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dave Bautista and John Cena.

McMahon, 77, retired from the company in July following a string of revelations that he paid several women millions of dollars over the years to keep them quiet about alleged affairs and misconduct. His daughter, Stephanie McMahon, became co-CEO alongside Khan. Paul Levesque, who’s both Stephanie McMahon’s husband and the wrestler known as Triple H, took over creative duties from Vince McMahon.

When Vince McMahon came back in January, Stephanie McMahon stepped down and Khan fully assumed the CEO role. The elder McMahon recently locked in a two-year employment contract, according to a securities filing.

Khan in recent weeks has been making the media rounds to discuss the potential sale. He told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan on Thursday that it’s been a robust sale process, drawing many interested buyers.

WWE brings with it a robust media and live events business, along with its decades worth of intellectual property. The company generated $1.29 billion in revenue last year, driven mainly by its $1 billion media unit.

UFC has paid off for Endeavor. Last year, the MMA league helped Endeavor’s sports business make $1.3 billion in revenue. Endeavor’s market cap stood at about $10.53 billion as of Friday’s close. The Endeavor-WWE deal values UFC at more than $12 billion.

WWE, at least at a glance, would also fit well with the cultures at Endeavor and UFC. McMahon has a brash public persona, making him an apparently good match for Emanuel and White, who are also known for their outsized personalities.

White, like McMahon, is no stranger to scandal, either. Earlier this year, video emerged showing the UFC boss slapping his wife during a public argument at a New Year’s Eve party in Mexico. White apologized.

[Destor]

Gonna laugh when we get a bunch of tweetz tomorrow about "plans change" though.the way i understand it this has been cooking for some time. Nothings final until its final. Contract negotiations are delicate as fuck and all that but its more likely than unlikely


https://www.tpwwforums.com/showthread.php?t=139462

[erickman]

time to bring swagger back

[Sepholio]

Too bad his bucket hat is All Elite and cant jump ship with him.

[Evil Vito]

what is the "endeavor/ufc playbook?"

Immediate assumption people are making is that you won’t be able to get “premium live events” for the nominal cost of a Peacock/Network sub anymore. With UFC you need to pay to be an ESPN+ subscriber AND pay for the big events.

But who knows what it says in the NBC/Peacock contract. Might be a while before we get to this point.

[erickman]

yeah they would want the ppv back

[Sepholio]

YAHAR BACK IN BUSINESS MATEYS

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don’t think they’re going to bring PPV back. WWE might try and dabble in it anyway, but I think their streaming model is one that is working big for them. Why buck it? WWE and UFC can have different models. There’s also international business to worry about.

If they’re technically the same company (which I find weird), I can see them amalgamating some office jobs after a while. Do you need two executive Vice Presidents of…Live Events, for example?

[xrodmuc316]

Immediate assumption people are making is that you won’t be able to get “premium live events” for the nominal cost of a Peacock/Network sub anymore. With UFC you need to pay to be an ESPN+ subscriber AND pay for the big events.

But who knows what it says in the NBC/Peacock contract. Might be a while before we get to this point.

They would be stupid to give that up, it is simple economics. They would have to sell enough PPVs to make up roughly $16.5 million each month. Mania would likely sell enough, and maybe Summerslam and the Rumble, but those other 9 months they would be lucky to make a third of what they are having it on Peacock.

The more interesting thing is the television rights. Selling now was the goal because a buyer like Comcast would then own the shows. Now Endeavor is going to have to still try and get good rights deals for Raw and Smackdown, which I doubt they have the ability to.

[erickman]

yeah the big 3 will go back to ppv while the others will stay on streaming

[xrodmuc316]

How pissed is Tiny Khan going to be when Vince and Dana White are laughing at what a fucking dork he is at a Board Meeting? :rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Sepholio]

How pissed is Tiny Khan going to be when Vince and Dana White are laughing at what a fucking dork he is at a Board Meeting? :rofl::rofl::rofl:

He won't be because this is obviously a long term play where the merger is finalized and then it's revealed endeavor has been sold to the Khan's and the Jaguars/Fullham teams will also be controlled by this new super company called (Wrath of)Khan Inc.

[Sepholio]

One of the first thing TK does afterwards is announce he is expanding the WWE HoF into the Pro Wrestling HoF, and the first member is Vince with TK presenting. Vince then comes up the stage and TK welcomes him to the new HoF and then gets a crazy smirk on his face and yells "YOOOUUU'RRREEEE FFFFIIIIIRRRRRRRREEEEDDDDD" and has security escort Vince out of the building.

[xrodmuc316]

LOL come on, Tiny would have a 0% chance of NOT trying to hug Vince

[Sepholio]

Ok he hugs him and then he fires him, fine.

[slik]

My guess is a lot of office staff would be viewed as redundant between UFC and WWE and would get cut.

I am curious to see how UFC fans would feel about Vince 'fake fighting' McMahon being a massive shareholder of UFC.

[Mr. Nerfect]

My guess is a lot of office staff would be viewed as redundant between UFC and WWE and would get cut.

I am curious to see how UFC fans would feel about Vince 'fake fighting' McMahon being a massive shareholder of UFC.

This post. :y:

[xrodmuc316]

My guess is a lot of office staff would be viewed as redundant between UFC and WWE and would get cut.

I am curious to see how UFC fans would feel about Vince 'fake fighting' McMahon being a massive shareholder of UFC.

WWE is WAY better than Slapfights though, so probably ok with it by comparison.

[slik]

Ariel Helwani about to get banned from WWE by Endeavor

[xrodmuc316]

Ariel Helwani about to get banned from WWE by Endeavor

Does Endeavor hate him or is it just Dana White?

[XL]

Appreciating the fact that the setup is different depending on location but what do you get other than a load of ancillary shows if you take PLEs off the network? That said, it was something I had listed in my response to a “Fix WWE” thread that I wrote but never posted 3 years ago: premium events (Rumble/Mania/SummerSlam/Survivor Series) become quarterly PPV exclusives with the other 8 monthly specials being included in the subscription.

[Sepholio]

Well the announcement has been made. UFC and WWE to merge and be traded on the NYSE under the symbol "TKO".

[Savio]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today, <a href="https://twitter.com/Endeavor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Endeavor</a> announced it has signed an agreement to form a $21+ billion global live sports and entertainment company made up of <a href="https://twitter.com/ufc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UFC</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWE</a>. <a href="https://t.co/lPrkBmKJXm">https://t.co/lPrkBmKJXm</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZBk95c5exU">pic.twitter.com/ZBk95c5exU</a></p>&mdash; Endeavor (@Endeavor) <a href="https://twitter.com/Endeavor/status/1642844890152435713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Sepholio]

Brawl for all 2 incoming

[Sepholio]

Brawl For All actually a good name for a joint WWE/UFC show

[Mr. Nerfect]

TKO…interesting.

[Evil Vito]

https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/scale_super/171/1712892/3719710-0.jpg

PICTURED: Dana White and Vince McMahon celebrate merger

[Evil Vito]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Vince McMahon better end this press conference quickly, later today he’s scheduled to tie a woman to some train tracks <a href="https://t.co/ROiouQYOcD">pic.twitter.com/ROiouQYOcD</a></p>&mdash; Brad Williams (@funnybrad) <a href="https://twitter.com/funnybrad/status/1642886683199967233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[XL]

Is that another fake Vince with moustache pic?

[Evil Vito]

Nope. That's real, pal.

[Evil Vito]

"He surrounds himself with glad-handing, nonsensical, douchebag yes men"

I can presume this line from Punk's pipebomb is still true since apparently nobody in Vince's circle asked him how he could possibly think that's a good look.

[Evil Vito]

All Vince needs now to complete his crisis is a 23-year old girlfriend who looks unnervingly similar to Steph.

[Big Vic]

I think it's real dude. lol

[#1-norm-fan]

That is the mustache I’d expect from an 80 year old newly single man who has never grown facial hair before.

[Sepholio]

Suddenly I feel like I have to call him Vincente from now on.

[Big Vic]

I hope Vince finally gets those pictures of spiderman.

[ron the dial]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTE5MTQ1MjkzNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMTU1ODIyMw@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg

[XL]

I think dying the hair and the eyebrows is far worse than the stache!

[xrodmuc316]

TKO is gonna be the new ticker symbol, Marc Mero gonna be looking for royalties!

[ClockShot]

The Vince moustache jokes needs it's own thread.

[Jordan]

Man this is really cool stuff. Vince is the fucking Goat

[Big Vic]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Vince McMahon better end this press conference quickly, later today he’s scheduled to tie a woman to some train tracks <a href="https://t.co/ROiouQYOcD">pic.twitter.com/ROiouQYOcD</a></p>&mdash; Brad Williams (@funnybrad) <a href="https://twitter.com/funnybrad/status/1642886683199967233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I searched for WWE Train yesterday to bring this tweet up on my phone and it reopened again today.... the amount of people that bit this guys joke.....

[Savio]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Vince McMahon has agreed to sell WWE to Endeavor... but that news has been overshadowed by his moustache 👀<br><br>We'll shave our follow-up questions about this for later 🤣 <a href="https://t.co/lnU7Qo1kBI">pic.twitter.com/lnU7Qo1kBI</a></p>&mdash; Breakfast Television (@breakfasttv) <a href="https://twitter.com/breakfasttv/status/1643208475424563200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Sepholio]

Lookin like Vincent Snidely McWhiplash over here.

[Frank Drebin]

I mean.....its an objectively terrible look for Vince. Cartoon criminal, terrible John Waters are all pretty spot on. Only type of person who could pull that off (other than John Waters) is maybe a stern ex military black dad who goes to church all the time.

[xrodmuc316]

#firevince trending :rofl:

[#1-norm-fan]

Wait a second. Didn’t Ted Turner have a mustache like that?

He also sold his wrestling company for far less than what it was worth.

… Hmm…

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Vince having the mustache is genius. Distracting everyone from everything he's done. Fucking hilarious.

[ron the dial]

i don't think it's distracting anyone from what he's done. it just adds a bit of cartoon flair to his villainy.

[ron the dial]

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.EtvKTYyWHbLUT4aBGp6JaQHaEl?pid=ImgDet&rs=1

[#1-norm-fan]

If “sexual misconduct” is one of the things you’ve done, I’d definitely suggest going with a different mustache to distract people from it.

[#1-norm-fan]

Dammit. Ron with the dastardly swoop-in. Very fitting picture.

[Evil Vito]

https://content.invisioncic.com/r229509/monthly_2023_04/FB_IMG_1680547516281.jpg.da23c50b10f2591f3818913c712834f2.jpg

"Sorry to deny you a moment of primate triumph, but you'll have to go elsewhere to sound your barbaric yawp."

[#1-norm-fan]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Ted_Turner_%28a%29.jpg

Vince is about to start colorizing old Gorgeous George matches.

[Evil Vito]

https://content.invisioncic.com/r229509/monthly_2023_04/1223264.jpg.42ebc1b7f3df410da0c959e089b6b1a6.jpg

[Evil Vito]

https://content.invisioncic.com/r229509/monthly_2023_04/FB_IMG_1680683606578.thumb.jpg.fc013a562bcf593e524a6f2e78edad3a.jpg

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

The McAdams family.

TBH tho I guarantee you the McMahons are far more sordid and lurid than the Adamses.

[Sepholio]

https://i.imgur.com/5R3FknD.jpg

[Evil Vito]

The McAdams family.

TBH tho I guarantee you the McMahons are far more sordid and lurid than the Adamses.

Gomez and Morticia's marriage is a hell of a lot more loving and stable, that's for sure

[#1-norm-fan]

https://i.imgur.com/5R3FknD.jpg

I know this was likely just posted in the wrong thread but I’m trying to think of a joke that makes it fit here. Struggling.

[ron the dial]

that's the issue brock was having too

[Sepholio]

I know this was likely just posted in the wrong thread but I’m trying to think of a joke that makes it fit here. Struggling.

This was absolutely the right thread for it considering I feel like Brock getting pushed like this is being done because Endeavor wants it.

[Lock Jaw]

WWE alone would certainly never give Brock Lesnar a push

[Lock Jaw]

Newz reposted from casual

Warner Bros Discovery potentially interested in getting WWE programming

With the WWE recently getting sold to Endeavor, the next order of business for the company is negotiating new television deals.

The WWE’s current TV deals, one with USA Network for Monday Night Raw and the other with Fox for Friday Night SmackDown, expire in 2024.

While CEO Nick Khan has said NBC Universal (which owns USA) and Fox will have right of first refusal on new deals, there could be a very interesting player in the mix for WWE programming.

Appearing on the latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina, journalist and author Jim Miller revealed that Warner Brothers Discovery, which includes TBS and TNT, is interested in WWE television.

When asked whether there are other companies, besides NBC and Fox, who would like to get in business with the WWE, Miller said, "I think so. And I wouldn’t be surprised, despite the fact that money is such an issue for them, I wouldn’t be surprised if Warner Brothers Discovery wouldn’t like a slice of that WWE pie.”

This would be a significant development since Turner currently airs programming for AEW on Wednesday and Friday nights. But Turner’s possibly getting into business with the WWE wasn’t the only bombshell dropped by Miller.

“Monday Night does not have to be on Monday night," said Miller. Monday night is a tough night, because if you go through the calendar all year round, there’s sports on Monday night. And you could, if you’re Warner Brothers Discovery, you could say, we’re gonna move it to a different night, we could have the NBA on Thursday night, but we’re gonna figure out a different night for it and all of a sudden it becomes very attractive."

When asked whether Warner Brothers Discovery would want WWE programming in addition to AEW programming or instead of AEW programming, Miller say, “I don’t know. I just know there are people at Warner Brothers who are interested [in WWE].”

[xrodmuc316]

Newz reposted from casual

Warner Bros Discovery potentially interested in getting WWE programming

And somewhere in Florida Tiny Khan is screaming at his dad to "JUST BUY TIME WARNER FOR ME DADDEEEEEEY! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS SHIT!!!!!!!"

[Ruien]

I am surprised Raw hasn't moved to Tuesday already. NFL eats them alive for like 20 weeks out of the year.

[Mr. Nerfect]

If I was lumped with AEW, I’d want WWE programming too.

[rez]

ESPN has exclusive rights to UFC? That's what I just read...I haven't paid any attention to it the last few years.

The next WWE media rights negations should be interesting. FOX will want to keep a share but Universal might finally just say fuck it again.

[xrodmuc316]

Really well put together timeline here:

https://wrestlenomics.com/2023/05/12/timeline-of-the-deal-that-led-to-the-merger-of-wwe-and-ufc/

March 23rd, 2023 is especially interesting:

Mar 23: Endeavor’s legal advisor Latham gave WWE a revised term sheet, proposing Vince as executive chair until death, resignation or incapacity, as a condition of giving WWE a 49/51 increased valuation. Vince would also get 5 of 11 board seats and certain veto rights.

Indeed, according to the filing, Endeavor was willing to concede to giving WWE shareholders a greater portion of the value of the merged company (49% rather than 43%) only on the condition that Vince McMahon remained with the company as executive chair.

During conversations on March 23 and March 24, 2023 involving representatives of K&E [for WWE], Latham [for Endeavor] and Paul, Weiss [for WWE], representatives of Latham emphasized to representatives of K&E and Paul, Weiss that the governance proposals in the March 23 Endeavor Term Sheet were fundamental to Endeavor’s thesis for pursuing a transaction with WWE in light of, among other things, Endeavor’s belief that Mr. McMahon’s continued leadership as contemplated by the March 23 Endeavor Term Sheet would be critical to the value creation driving Endeavor’s desire to engage in the transaction, and that agreeing to increase WWE’s securityholders’ pro forma equity ownership in the combined company to the 51/49 split that had been proposed by WWE was conditioned upon both changes required by Endeavor to the governance arrangements set forth in the March 23 Endeavor Term Sheet. Latham also reiterated Endeavor’s position that Mr. McMahon provide his written consent to approve the potential transaction with Endeavor promptly following the signing of definitive transaction agreements.

That’s consistent with Emanuel’s comments on CNBC on Apr 3, when he said, “Oh my god, yes,” in response to a question about whether he insisted Vince stay with the company.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Really interesting to see how insistent Endeavor is that Vince be involved. Is that them being attached to the outmoded idea of Vince, or was his involvement in key business decisions something that has been undervalued by internet pundits? It was always suggested that Triple H was notoriously bad at handling that side of things.