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Taken from digitalspy.com | Author: Stephanie Chase | Date: 3 April 2023
WWE has been purchased by Ari Emanuel's Endeavor Group, the parent company of mixed martial arts promotion UFC.
WWE and UFC will now merge to form a new publicly traded company controlled by Endeavor.
The news, first reported by CNBC over the weekend, was officially announced on Monday, April 3, following WWE's flagship Wrestlemania pay-per-view event. According to the CNBC report, the company has been valued at $9.3 billion (£8.1 billion).
Emanuel will now be chief executive of both Endeavor and a new, publicly traded company that will run both WWE and UFC. WWE's executive chairman Vince McMahon will stay on in that role, sharing duties with Mark Shapiro.
Nick Khan will stay as CEO of WWE and president of wrestling operations, with Dana White remaining as president of UFC.
In a statement, Emanuel said: "This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed.
"For decades, Vince and his team have demonstrated an incredible track record of innovation and shareholder value creation, and we are confident that Endeavor can deliver significant additional value for shareholders by bringing UFC and WWE together.”