How Last Minute Was WWE's Sale to Endeavor?
WWE is under new ownership. Following a historically successful WWE WrestleMania 39, news broke that the global leader in sports-entertainment was officially being sold to Endeavor, the parent company of UFC. As a result of this sale, WWE and UFC will merge into one giant publicly traded company, utilizing the ticker symbol "TKO." While a WWE sale has been expected since McMahon returned to the company's board of directors this past January, there had been no word on how far along the professional wrestling giant was in the process. Everything pointed to WWE being sold at some point before the end of 2023 which consequently left many surprised at the rapid turnaround from early reports on the afternoon of April 2nd to being made official on the morning of April 3rd.
The shock extended to high-ranking officials within Endeavor as well. Speaking to Puck, Endeavor COO Mark Shapiro revealed that he was only made aware of the WWE sale two days before it was announced.
"Until Saturday, I didn't even know we had this deal," Shapiro said.
It was noted that Endeavor placed its initial bid to acquire WWE three weeks prior to the deal going through.
Shapiro continued by addressing the next steps following Endeavor's acquisition of WWE, noting that the focus will be on corporate synergy moving forward.
"Anything from H.R. to finance to legal to communications production to distribution and marketing," Shapiro continued. "Across every area, you're going to find cost synergies; you're going to integrate and ultimately highlight and appoint the best and brightest teams."
While there will be an emphasis on internal cooperation, Endeavor also has multiple external factors to address, with the most crucial being WWE's media rights. Monday Night Raw and WWE SmackDown's television deals with NBCUniversal and Fox, respectively, are both set to expire in 2024.
Shapiro added that he looks forward to working with WWE President Nick Khan during that negotiation process.
"There's no question that when Nick (Khan) goes in to renew his domestic deals, having us at the table, with our relationships and our portfolio of assets, will be helpful in the process," Shapiro said.
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for more on the future of WWE following the sale to Endeavor.