The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:WWE) have officially merged to create a new sports entertainment company, TKO Group. The company, which started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, is valued at $21.4 billion.
TKO Group opened its first trading day at $102 per share. The new entity is expected to serve more than one billion young and diverse fans across 180 countries, producing over 350 annual live events. UFC's parent company, Endeavor, will own a 51% majority stake in TKO Group, while WWE shareholders will hold the remaining 49%.
The merger was first announced in April when both WWE and Endeavor expressed their intention to cross-promote their brands and deepen penetration of their overlapping fan base, which comprises over 700 million UFC fans and 1.2 billion WWE fans worldwide.
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel has been appointed as the chief executive of TKO Group, while Vince McMahon, the long-standing face of WWE, will serve as its executive chairman. Other key executives include Endeavor president and COO Mark Shapiro who will hold the same role at TKO, and UFC's Dana White who remains as CEO. The chief legal officer at TKO will be Seth Krauss from Endeavor, while Andrew Schleimer from WWE takes on the role of CFO.
The board of TKO Group consists of an 11-member team drawing from both Endeavor and WWE along with new directors including Nancy Tellem, executive chair and chief media officer of Eko (formerly Interlude) and former president of CBS, and Jonathan Kraft, president of the New England Patriots and the Kraft Group investment firm.
The merger signifies a significant development in the sports entertainment industry, combining two powerful brands under one umbrella. Executives from both sides rang the NYSE opening bell on Tuesday to celebrate the birth of a new premium sports and entertainment company.
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