Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE) gained over 4.5% on Monday thanks to the $4 billion sale of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Although the WWE had no involvement in the UFC deal, the sale highlights the value of the sports industry currently. Additionally, the WWE and the UFC are more comparable than ever after the WWE’s Brock Lesnar was allowed to compete at last weekend’s UFC 200 pay-per-view.
Lesnar, who originally left the WWE to pursue a mixed-martial-arts career in the UFC, was forced to retire from “real” fighting over five years ago due to ongoing health concerns. He re-signed with WWE and has been wrestling on a part-time basis with the promotion ever since.
In a groundbreaking act of cross-promotion, WWE CEO Vince McMahon allowed Lesnar, who is still under contract with the wrestling promoter, to return to the UFC after his health recovered. In his first MMA fight in over five years, Lesnar defeated one of the UFC’s top-10 heavyweights in Mark Hunt this weekend, while the UFC played a commercial for the WWE’s upcoming Summerslam pay-per-view in a primetime slot right before the fight.
Just two days after this historic moment, UFC president Dana White confirmed that the company had been sold to talent agency WME-IMG, which partnered with equity firms Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (NYSE:KKR) , and MSD Capital to execute the $4 billion dollar deal.
The $4 billion transaction represents the biggest purchase of an organization in sports history, an impressive feat for a once-shunned company that sold for just $2 million in 2000.
Following the Brock Lesnar fight, the WWE hopes to ride the momentum of the fighter into Summerslam, hopefully cashing in on a tide of newly-converted MMA fans. If those fans can make the UFC as valuable as it has proven to be, perhaps the WWE is worth more than some might think.
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