Endeavor Group Holdings posted a 16% increase in total revenue in the first quarter thanks to the WWE-UFC merger, though the company’s divisions outside of Owned Sports Properties each saw downturns. Total revenue came in at $1.85 billion, with the rise from a year ago largely due to the influx from the WWE, which joined
Endeavor
UFC parent Endeavor Group and World Wrestling Entertainment said today they expect to close the planned merger of UFC and WWE on September 12. That’s on the earlier end of expectations as Endeavor said in August it expected the deal to close in mid-to-late September. Endeavor and WWE announced a deal last spring for the
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel ruled out any major stock deal right how and indicated reluctance to increase debt, both at a time when the UFC’s main rival, WWE, is up for sale. “Here’s what I would say to you, I don’t talk about M&A,” he told a Morgan Stanley investor conference when asked about a
UPDATED with comments from post-earnings conference call: Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said today that if there is a dip in content spending underway, his company “isn’t feeling it.” Responding to the question he gets from Wall Street every quarter now, he ticked off all the high-end deals Endeavor’s made across the entertainment spectrum. “Endeavor is