TKO to acquire Professional Bull Riders and other Endeavor assets in $3.25-billion deal
WWE and UFC owner TKO Group Holdings Inc. on Thursday said it will acquire three businesses from Beverly Hills-based Endeavor Group Holdings, including Professional Bull Riders, in the latest move by mogul Ari Emanuel to reconfigure his sports and entertainment empire.
In an all-equity deal valued at $3.25 billion, publicly traded TKO will receive Professional Bull Riders, hospitality business On Location and global sports marketing agency IMG. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
TKO is controlled by Endeavor. Emanuel, the Hollywood superagent, is chief executive of both companies.
The acquisition comes after Endeavor last year said it would explore its strategic alternatives, as executives believed its stock price was not reflecting the company’s value. In April, Endeavor said it will be taken private through private equity firm Silver Lake, its largest investor.
“PBR, On Location, and IMG are industry-leading assets that meaningfully enhance TKO’s portfolio and strengthen our position in premium sports globally,” Mark Shapiro, president and chief operating officer of TKO and Endeavor, said in a statement. “Within TKO, they will help power the growth of our revenue streams and position us to capture even more upside from some of the most attractive parts of our sports ecosystem.”
TKO’s acquisition of PBR gives the company another sports league in its portfolio, Shapiro said on a recorded webcast posted on Endeavor’s website. He said PBR hosts 200 live events each year with more than 1 million fans in attendance.
“The concept of having three of our sports leagues on one weekend in one city is at once exciting and achievable, not to mention the impact it would have on synergies,” Shapiro said on the webcast.
TKO, which combines mixed martial arts league UFC and pro-wrestling giant WWE, became a publicly traded company in September 2023, with Endeavor having a 51% controlling stake.
Endeavor said it would be taken private by its largest investor, Silver Lake, after exploring options. The owner of WME has struggled on the public market.
After the new deal, Endeavor will increase its ownership of TKO to 59%. Endeavor said it will get about 26.14 million common units of TKO and “will subscribe for an equal number of shares of TKO’s Class B common stock.”
On Thursday, Endeavor also said it is exploring the potential sale of Miami Open and Madrid Open, two legendary ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tennis tournaments, and art organization Frieze.
TKO said it will have a share repurchase program of up to $2 billion on its Class A common stock and a $75-million quarterly cash dividend program.
“This underscores our continued focus on delivering sustainable long-term value for our shareholders,” Emanuel said in a statement.
Shapiro said he and Emanuel have waived their asset sale bonuses tied to any sale of Endeavor businesses to TKO.
TKO stock declined 8% to $115.42 a share on Thursday morning. Endeavor’s stock dropped 0.8% to $28.95 a share.
After the latest allegation of sexual assault, Vince McMahon, the wrestling mogul, has resigned as executive chairman of TKO Group, the company formed last year in a $21.4 billion merger between WWE and UFC
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