World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the popular professional wrestling promotion company known for its over-the-top wrestling shows and live events, is reportedly on the verge of an acquisition by Endeavor Group, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The long-running wrestling promotor, which has been owned by the McMahon family and controlled by 77-year-old Vince McMahon for decades, is set to become part of the larger Endeavor group after the acquisition.
As per details from the report by CNBC, Endeavour will hold 51 percent of the ownership of the new organisation, while WWE shareholders will own the remaining 49 percent.
WWE is said to have been seeking a buyer for the company for some time now, with Endeavor emerging as the most likely to complete the acquisition. Vince McMahon stepped down from his role as CEO and Chairman of WWE in June 2022 following a series of sexual misconduct allegations, but returned to the role of executive Chairman in January 2023 in order to oversee the process of the sale of WWE. With the deal expected to go through, WWE will finally change from being a family-run company to a corporate enterprise as part of a larger holding group.
Endeavor Group is the owner of mixed martial arts promotion company Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which was founded in 1993. The combined enterprise will be among the largest in the world in its field of combat-based entertainment.
Although WWE – earlier known as World Wrestling Federation (WWF) – was founded by Vince McMahon’s father, the 77-year-old current executive Chairman is credited with growing the enterprise to a global franchise that includes not only worldwide telecasts and live events, but also merchandise, films, music, toys, and video games through various operations and licensing deals. While WWE is currently valued at close to $7 billion (approximately Rs. 57,600 crore) as per share prices, the acquisition by Endeavour will reportedly give it an enterprise valuation of $9.3 billion (approximately Rs. 76,600 crore).
In India, WWE content is streamed on Sony Liv. The wrestling promotion franchise has led to the rise and fame of global celebrities such as Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Dave Bautista, as well as contributed to the success of popular video games based on its personalities, including the recently-released WWE 2K23 from the current WWE 2K series.