Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel discusses the company's acquisition of WWE.
On April 3, WWE entered into a transaction agreement to sell to Endeavor. As part of the deal, WWE and UFC will merge and form a new company, and Vince McMahon will be the Executive Chair of the Board.
Speaking on CNBC's Squawk on the Street, Emanuel commented on the company's deal with WWE. He first addressed Endeavor's sale of IMG Academy and noted that he hoped that would help people realize that Endeavor still has plenty of valuable assets.
"Well hopefully, with this sale of the academy, the sale of Endeavor content, two things that sold for a billion dollars, IMG Academy for $1.250 billion, people realize, ‘Wait a second, there’s really great assets inside remaining assets at Endeavor, which I think there are, of course, as the CEO. Yes, there’s unbelievable value in the pure play of sports and sports and entertainment, eventually with UFC and WWE, TKO," Emanuel said.
Emanuel emphasized that, between events, betting, and other content, Endeavor has "unbelievable" assets. When asked about dealing with both Dana White and Vince McMahon, Emanuel noted that he has worked with both men in the past, and he's confident there won't be any issues.
"Actually, I’ve represented UFC before we bought it, for over 20 years. The same thing’s true with Vince. We have a good relationship," Emanuel said.
When asked if he’ll let White and McMahon what they want to do with UFC and WWE, Emanuel stated that he would. He made it clear that Endeavor will handle WWE with the same approach they used with UFC.
“Exactly. We do what we do as it relates to saving some costs, driving some revenue with sponsorship, international sales. Like we did with UFC, we’re gonna 2.0 at WWE," Emanuel said.
Emanuel was also questioned about the negotiations for media rights and whether the deal enhanced the ability to negotiate renewals. He stated that, for now, they're focused on saving some costs and getting some sponsorships. He also cited the timeline of the renewals, which differs for WWE and UFC.
“Right now, we’re focused on saving some costs, doing sponsorships which they didn’t have. It’s the same formula we used at UFC, and international rights. Their rights are open now, we’re in a year and a half from now. I think they’re on separate time frames," he said.
When asked about the timeframe of the WWE deal, Emanuel stated that they are just waiting on the Department of Justice, and they have not intentionally pushed it back.
“We’re waiting on DOJ. We’re not pushing it back. We’re just waiting," Emanuel said.
Endeavor's Mark Shapiro has stated that the company will use the UFC playbook with WWE. Check out his comments here.
Check out Dana White's comments about the WWE/Endeavor deal here.
Eric Bischoff recently shared his thoughts on WWE's deal with Endeavor. Click here to see what he had to say.
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