Credit: Twitter
The President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Dana White, will take on a new role after merging with sports entertainment giants World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Both leaders in combat sports joined hands to form TKO which will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Also Read: Endeavor officially merges WWE, UFC to form TKO Group Holdings
The merger was completed after Endevour Group, UFC’s parent company, purchased WWE for a sum of $ 9.3 billion. Endeavor will have a “51% controlling interest in the new company and existing WWE shareholders holding a 49% interest in the new company, on a fully diluted basis.” TKO Group will now have over one billion fans worldwide and produce more than 350 annual live events, reaching viewers in 180 countries.
Under new management, White will be the Chief Executive Officer of UFC and Lawrence Epstein will continue as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the MMA production. Despite the new role, White will continue his role as the leader of the and continue to promote the events as the face of the company. Similarly, Paul 'Triple H' Levesque will remain as the head of creative and chief content officer of WWE.
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Talking about this historic merger, Ariel Emanuel, the CEO OF Endeavor and TKO said in a statement, “The creation of TKO marks an exciting new chapter for UFC and WWE as leaders in global sports and entertainment. Given their continued connectivity to the Endeavor network, we are confident in our ability to accelerate their respective growth and unlock long-term sustainable value for shareholders. With UFC and WWE under one roof, we will provide unrivalled experiences for more than a billion passionate fans worldwide.”
