TKO Group acquires IMG, PBR and On Location from Endeavor

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TKO CEO Ari Emanuel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson communicate with CNBC on the New York Inventory Change (NYSE) in New York Metropolis, USA, January 23, 2024.

Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters

TKO groupthe corporate that owns WWE and UFC is increasing into sports-adjacent properties by buying three corporations from its controlling proprietor for $3.25 billion, Endeavor group.

The businesses are Skilled Bull Riders, On Location and IMG, the businesses introduced on Thursday. The deal is all-equity and can improve Endeavor’s possession in TKO from 53% to 59%.

The transaction expands TKO’s strategic ambitions by broadening its sports activities focus past the operation of competitions. Whereas the corporate is gaining a brand new competitors in PBR, the world’s largest bull driving competitors, it’s also increasing into luxurious hospitality with On Location and media rights consulting by means of IMG.

“Sports activities unites us and it has by no means been in increased demand,” stated Mark Shapiro, the president and chief working officer of each Endeavor and TKO, in an interview. “At TKO we’re notably occupied with league possession, if it exists, and in corporations that may energy our present sports activities ecosystem. This may very well be ticket gross sales, catering, client merchandise, experience within the subject of media rights. That is what we get in IMG and On Location.”

Non-public fairness agency Silver Lake made his intentions recognized to take Endeavor personal earlier this yr. As a part of that transaction, Silver Lake wished to divest sure belongings, Shapiro stated. Endeavor got here to the TKO board with a proposal to promote the three corporations. TKO organized a particular committee to analyze the transaction, which it in the end really helpful to the board, Shapiro stated.

PBR hosts greater than 200 occasions yearly for greater than 1 million followers. PBR CEO and Commissioner Sean Gleason will proceed to guide the group, TKO stated in an announcement.

On Location offers luxurious hospitality for main sporting occasions together with the Tremendous Bowl, the Ryder Cup, March Insanity, the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Video games.

IMG packages and sells media rights and model partnerships and offers strategic recommendation on the most important TV offers for the NFL, English Premier League, Nationwide Hockey League, Main League Soccer, UFC, WWE and PBR. The IMG acquisition doesn’t embody “corporations related to the IMG model in licensing, fashions and tennis illustration, nor IMG’s complete occasions portfolio,” the TKO assertion stated.

Along with the transaction, TKO additionally introduced that it’s going to provoke a $300 million annual dividend and has authorised a share repurchase program of as much as $2 billion for its Class A typical inventory.

TKO Group acquires IMG, PBR and On Location from Endeavor

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