Private equity firm Silver Lake has finalized the acquisition of Endeavor, the parent company of TKO Group Holdings, Inc., which includes WWE and UFC. Following the acquisition, Endeavor will become a privately held company. However, TKO Group Holdings, Inc., valued at billion, is expected to remain public.
A press statement outlined below confirmed the deal:
Silver Lake, in concert with Endeavor’s management team and other investors, has successfully completed the acquisition of Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. All outstanding shares of Endeavor not previously owned by Silver Lake and its co-investors have been acquired, except for rolled interests. Following the closure of the deal, Endeavor shares will now be valued at .50, an approximately 55% premium compared to the share value of .72 on October 25, 2023. As a result of this transaction, the company, Endeavor, will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Silver Lake’s acquisition has also included Endeavor’s controlling ownership stake in TKO Group Holdings, Inc., a formidable entity within the sports and entertainment industry comprising firms such as WWE and UFC. Consolidating the total enterprise value of TKO into Endeavor, the combined valuation at .50 per share totals billion, marking this as the biggest private equity sponsor public-to-private investment over the past decade and unparalleled in terms of size within the media and entertainment sector.
Moving forward, Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc.’s portfolio of representation businesses will be reframed as WME Group, a collective of leading entities specializing in talent representation, intellectual property, and brand management.
Egon Durban and Mark Shapiro of Silver Lake and Ariel Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell of the newly formed WME Group expressed their excitement about the future prospects of the restructured endeavors and continued partnerships. Whitesell, in particular, will undertake the role of CEO in a new platform, created in association with Silver Lake, to invest in properties and intellectual property across sports, media, and entertainment.
This acquisition was financed through a combination of new and reinvested equity from Silver Lake, additional capital from Mubadala Investment Company among other entities, as well as equity rolled over by individuals, which include Emanuel, Whitesell, and Shapiro.