UFC has new owners. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
The main fight organization on the planet has new owners. This Monday (11), the UFC officialized its sale to a consortium in a negotiation estimated at US$4 billion, which would represent the largest transaction of a sports franchise in history.
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Until then, the owner of Ultimate was Zuffa LLC, a Las Vegas firm headed by brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, businessmen in the casino business. The brothers each own 40,5% of the company's shares, with 9% being held by Dana White and 10% by Flash Entertainment, the Abu Dhabi state-owned group.
Zuffa acquired UFC in 2001 for just $2 million. Since then, the company has balanced its financial balance, paid off debts, acquired important rival organizations, expanded internationally and is now established as one of the biggest sports leagues in the world according to “Forbes” magazine.
It is still too early to say what impacts the negotiation will have on the UFC. Dana White, who serves as president of the organization, will remain in the role, while the Fertittas will step down from daily activities and only operate in the business as minority partners.
Check out the profile of each of the companies that now own the UFC below:
WME-IMG
This is Williams Morris Endeavor, a company based in Beverly Hills, California (USA). In 2015, the group merged with the International Management Group, thus becoming WME-IMG.
The company operates heavily in the entertainment and sports sector, which encompasses more than 800 events of different types in more than 30 countries. This ranges from sports, with football, golf, basketball, tennis tournaments, and even contests like Miss Universe.
Your participation in the world of show business is also large, with a talent agency that involves film, music, television and digital content. One of its agents, guess what, is Ronda Rousey, which placed the management of his film career in the hands of the company.
Strategic investors
Located in Silicon Valley, California (USA), Silver Lake purchased shares in IMG in 2012. The company acts heavily as an investor in the technology sector, which includes no less than US$24 billion in assets and committed capital.
Under its umbrella are companies such as Dell, Skype, GoDaddy, EMC and Avaya.
UFC's other new strategic investor is KKR Group, or Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts Group. The company also has investments of different types, especially in the areas of energy, infrastructure, construction and hedge funds.
Finally, MSD Capital and MSD Partners will work on monetary management to ensure financial balance in the operation. It is a company founded in 1998, founded in New York (USA), which manages assets worth US$15 billion.
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