Is UFC’s Parent Company ‘Endeavor’ Looking to Purchase WWE?

Vince McMahon made his unexpected comeback to WWE after a brief retirement with a sole purpose in mind- to pursue the sale of his company. The WWE mogul spent four decades of his life building the largest wrestling promotion in the world after he bought it from his father. At 77, McMahon wants to end things on his terms. It was previously reported that there are a lot of interested candidates in the market who would bend over backward to purchase McMahon’s billion-dollar company. 

Some of the potential bidders are Saudi Arabia, Disney, Netflix, Comcast, and Endeavor. However, Endeavor is no longer in the running to buy Vince McMahon’s company. The reported market price of WWE is around %6.5B but, Vince McMahon wants the potential buyer to shell out $9B for his company. 

Endeavor is no longer a candidate to purchase WWE

For the unversed, Endeavor is the parent company of UFC. The company has had a “longstanding relationship” with WWE for over two decades. Speaking at the Q4 2022 earnings call, the CEO of Endeavor, Ari Emanuel, disclosed that the company will not pursue the bid to buy WWE as it will change its “leverage position”. 

“As it relates to WWE, it’s an unbelievable product. Vince, you know, created a great business. We’ve had a longstanding relationship with them for over two decades. We’re doing on-location business with them, streaming business with them, his business is really valuable. But we’re not going to do anything as it relates to changing our leverage position right now,” Emanuel said.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel on $WWE on today’s $EDR call sounds like he doesn’t want to take more debt:

“[WWE] is an unbelievable product… [Vince McMahon’s] business is really valuable, but we’re not going to do anything as it relates to changing our leverage position right now.” pic.twitter.com/iUqfMWwpUD

— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) March 1, 2023

Initially, when Vince McMahon put up his company for sale, Endeavor was one of the potential candidates to buy WWE. Since Vince McMahon’s asking price is too high, Endeavor is backing out as it’s too big a risky investment for a company with an estimated market cap of $10.5B. 

Who are the other top bidders in the market?

According to another report by The Wrestling Blog, Disney, and Comcast are still in the running as the top prospective buyers. The report further noted that Saudi Arabia’s PIF is at the top of the list of potential candidates. It was also previously reported that Saudi Arabia has an ulterior motive behind their bid to buy WWE, as it would improve its public image. 

Endeavor isn’t interested anymore on buying WWE they are out of the game bid as of right now, according to some information I received Disney, and Comcast are still top candidates, and Saudi Arabia Public Investment Funds are back in the top conversations for possible candidates

— The Wrestling Blog (@WrestlingBlog_) March 1, 2023

As of this writing, it’s unknown when exactly the WWE will cut a deal with one of its candidates, but according to the CEO, Nick Khan, the process should take no longer than three months.

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