Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. has gone private in a deal that puts the value of the entertainment company at about $25 billion when including TKO Group Holdings Inc., the sports juggernaut of which Endeavor owns about 61%.
The Beverly Hills holding company entered a deal with Silver Lake, a Menlo Park-based private equity firm, last April to be taken private and changing its name to WME Group.
Silver Lake paid $27.50 per share it didn’t already own of Endeavor, which it started to invest in in 2012.
Egon Durban, co-chief executive and managing partner of Silver Lake, said the firm has invested in Endeavor six times. This transaction makes the Beverly Hills holding company the single largest position in its portfolio.
“Silver Lake has never sold a share, instead increasing our stake as we remain highly excited about the long-term growth outlook for the company,” Durban said in a statement.
C-suite shakeups at the company
Ari Emanuel, the former chief executive of the company, has taken on the title of executive chairman of WME Group. He remains chief executive of TKO.
TKO in New York is made up of WWE, UFC, IMG, PBR – a professional bull riding organization – and On Location, a provider of global premium live event experiences across sports and music. It is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
“I am grateful to Egon and the team at Silver Lake for the trust they have placed in me as a founder and entrepreneur,” Emanuel said in a statement. “Together, we have created and enhanced a foundation unlike any other to accelerate value creation for clients and partners across WME Group and TKO, which I am excited to continue to build and grow.”
WME Group comprises category leaders focused on representing talent, intellectual property, and brands, including talent agency WME, with expertise spanning film and television, books, sports, theater and more; 160over90, a global marketing agency; IMG Licensing, a global provider in brand licensing; and Pantheon Media Group, a non-scripted content production company.
Patrick Whitesell, previously executive chairman of Endeavor, will become CEO of a new company in partnership with Silver Lake to invest in and scale properties across sports, media and entertainment. Silver Lake will provide Whitesell $250 million to put into the new business, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from last year.
“Everything we built at Endeavor would not have been possible without the partnership of Egon and the entire Silver Lake team,” Whitesell said in a statement. “Our industry is in the very early stages of generational transformation. I have never seen a more promising time for bold and ambitious entrepreneurs, creatives, and athletes.”
Mark Shapiro, previously president and chief operating officer of Endeavor, is now president and managing partner of WME Group.
“Our ability to deliver landmark partnerships, career-defining business opportunities, and enduring cultural moments is amplified by this transaction and the formation of WME Group,” Shapiro said in a statement. “The Silver Lake team has proven time and again that they are all-in on representation and content, and our clients, partners, and employees will thrive under our new structure.”
Shapiro will remain as president and chief operating officer of TKO.
“Mark Shapiro is an impressive, hard charging, creative, and determined leader who is driving and orchestrating massive value creation,” Durban said. “We look forward to continuing our work and partnership with him and the rest of the management team – including Richard Weitz and Christian Muirhead at WME Group and Dana White, Andrew Schleimer and the collective TKO leadership – all of whom are industry best.”
Weitz and Muirhead are now the co-chairs of WME Group and report to Shapiro.
White is the chief executive and president of the UFC, while Schleimer is chief financial officer of TKO.
