As was first reported in March, the UFC's parent company is planning to go public and as of today, it's taken a major step in that very direction.
Formerly known as WME-IMG, Endeavor bought the UFC in 2016, spending over $4 billion to buy the famed MMA promotion. They are most known for their work as a sports talent agency and today announced that they've filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposing a stock market launch. The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter earlier today.
Endeavor currently represents the NFL and NHL while also boasting majority ownership of the UFC. They purchased the promotion from the Fertita Brothers (Frank and Lorenzo) and it's reportedly earned record revenue since. This year has already brought change for the promotion though, debuting on ESPN before in March, transferring their PPV distribution to the ESPN+ streaming service as well. In fact, Dana White claims that the UFC's value has grown to $7 billion since Endeavor's purchase.
However, it remains unclear how their business will be altered by this now seemingly inevitable shift. With that being said, Endeavor's more detailed plans are outlined in the publicly available S-1 form.
