Recently, the entertainment world was left stunned when Endeavor, the partner company of the UFC announced its acquisition of WWE. Whilst many have wondered about the finer details of the merger, a lot has been asked about the brains of the operation. As such, let’s take a look at the man spearheading the operation, CEO Ari Emanuel.
Notably, Ariel Zev Emanuel is the CEO of Endeavor, the entertainment and media agency that owns the UFC. Under the leadership of Ari, Endeavor Group Holdings acquired UFC’s parent company, Zuffa in 2016 for $4.025 billion. At the time, the group was known as William Morris Endeavor (WME-IMG), with Ari, and Patrick Whitesell as the co-CEOs. Previously, Ari and Patrick have both been named on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year list in 2010 as well.
Thus, in 2023, Endeavor Group Holdings announced that the UFC will be merging in a deal with WWE worth $21 billion. As per the deal, the WWE is valued at $9.3 billion and the UFC, owned by Endeavor, at $12.1 billion. According to reports, Emmanuel will serve as the chief executive of both Endeavor and the new company.
Additionally, Emanuel, who has a $450 million net worth, has stated that he will not be a part of any creative decisions in the WWE. As such, he added, “Dana’s got the say as it relates to the UFC, Vince as it relates to the WWE.” Emanuel added, “We have nothing to do with the creative process. That’s Vince’s and Dana’s situation.” Speaking about the merger, Emanuel said in a press release, “This is going to be UFC 2.0.”
What has been said about Ari Emmanuel and the UFC-WWE merger?
For the most part, news of the merger has taken the world by storm. Even big names like Conor McGregor have praised the venture online. Interestingly, Endeavor shareholders will own a 51% stake in the new company, and the WWE shareholders will own the remaining 49%. Thus, the board of this company will consist of 11 people, six appointed by Endeavor and five by the WWE.
As for the responsibilities that Vince McMahon and Dana White will be assuming, Emanuel had encouraging words to say. “I’ve got Vince McMahon, a visionary that sees around the corner. I’ve got Dana White and what we’ve built. That’s pretty unstoppable.” Dana White has worked closely with Ari Emanuel and the Fertitta brothers during his time as UFC President.
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Speaking about the merger, Dana expressed his excitement and his thoughts on Ari and McMahon. “Vince is a savage in the wrestling space, Ari is a beast at what he does, and then we add what we at UFC bring to the table and there is no limit to what this company can accomplish in the next few years.” Despite rumors that he is not McMahon’s biggest fan, Dana seems hyped about this new venture and to carry out his duties.
Despite the name of the new company yet to be decided, there is general optimism and feel-good energy around it. Moreover, the deal is set to be completed in the second half of 2023 with big expectations to top the UFC and the WWE’s revenue records from last year.