TKO Group Holdings -- the combined company with UFC and WWE -- has acquired new assets from Endeavor in an all-stock deal worth $3.25 billion.
Terms of the deal were announced on Thursday with TKO acquiring Professional Bull Riders, the event planning and hospitality service On Location as well as IMG, a sports and media agency, producer and distributor previously housed at Endeavor.
Under the terms of the deal, Endeavor "will receive approximately 26.14 million common" shares of TKO stock and "will subscribe for an equal number of shares of TKO's Class B common stock."
Once the deal closes, Endeavor will own 59-percent of TKO with remaining shareholders controlling the other 41-percent of TKO stock.
"PBR, On Location, and IMG are industry-leading assets that meaningfully enhance TKO's portfolio and strengthen our position in premium sports globally," TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro said in a press release. "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: media rights, live events, ticket sales, premium experiences, brand partnerships, and site fees.
"These assets are already built into our business strategy at TKO and will serve to further enhance our strong track record of execution across UFC and WWE."
The deal comes as Endeavor is preparing to go private after spending the past three years as a publicly traded company. Silver Lake, a private equity firm, is funding the privatization at an approximate cost of $13 billion.
Obviously, Endeavor remains the primary shareholder in TKO, which is still a publicly traded company with UFC and WWE now being joined by these new assets in the combined company.
Since UFC and WWE merged under TKO Group Holdings, the company has flourished with stock prices continuing to rise in 2024. The UFC has continued to report record revenues year after year since being acquired by Endeavor back in 2016.
UFC is expected to give TKO another jolt in 2025 when the promotion negotiates a new broadcast rights deal, which is expected to be worth several billion over the next few years. The UFC's current deal remains exclusive with ESPN through the end of 2025.