Silver Lake, a leading private equity firm, is finalizing its acquisition of the remaining shares of Endeavor Group Holdings, intending to privatize the company that houses TKO and WME, at a purchase price of $27.50 per share. This acquisition price represents a 9% increase over the share’s value at the close of trading on Monday.
The announcement made on Tuesday afternoon revealed that this cash-only deal includes contributions from several key players: Mubadala, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates; DFO Management, linked to Michael Dell’s family office; the private equity entity Lexington Partners; and a selection of funds overseen by Goldman Sachs. The arrangement also incorporates a significant amount of fresh borrowing for the company, underwritten by a group of major financial institutions, details of which were not disclosed.
According to Silver Lake, this acquisition is among the top private equity transactions in recent years. They place Endeavor’s equity worth at $13 billion, which, when combined with the $12 billion equity valuation of UFC and WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings — a publicly traded entity over which Endeavor exerts a 51% voting control — totals an overall enterprise value of $25 billion. Despite this move, there are currently no disclosed plans by Silver Lake to privatize TKO.
Silver Lake highlighted that the acquisition price of $27.50 per share is 55% higher than Endeavor’s share value before the public disclosure of Silver Lake’s intentions to privatize the company in October. Furthermore, this price is 15% higher than Endeavor’s initial public offering (IPO) price of $24 in April 2021. With a 71% hold on Endeavor’s voting rights, Silver Lake is in a strong position to unilaterally push through this transaction.
Endeavor’s top executives, including Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, will maintain their equity stakes in the company post-acquisition. The transaction is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2025.
Following the news, Endeavor’s stock experienced a 2% increase, ending the day at $25.81, whereas TKO’s shares saw a 5% rise, closing at $90.63.
