Vince McMahon’s Full Letter To WWE Employees After Merger With UFC
Vince McMahon sent a letter to WWE employees following the huge news of Endeavor acquiring WWE to merge the company with UFC to create a powerful new company.
The big news of the week came on Monday morning after WrestleMania 39 when it was announced that Endeavor had purchased WWE. In an email to WWE employees, WWE’s Executive Chairman Vince McMahon wrote that “WWE has entered into a partnership with Endeavor to create a one-of-a-kind company that will bring together two global sports and entertainment powerhouses: WWE and UFC.”
The Endeavor Group announced that it had agreed to a $21 billion deal to form a new company that will encompass both UFC and WWE in the biggest shake-up in the wrestling world in decades.
By making this incredible deal, Endeavor is creating a company with a stock market value of over $21 billion, based on a valuation of UFC at $12 billion and WWE at $9.3 billion. By doing this deal with WWE, Vince McMahon didn’t necessarily sell WWE, but merged it with UFC to create this powerhouse company with Endeavor.
The new company will run under the TKO ticker on the New York Stock Exchange and will be known as NewCo until it is given an official new name.
In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter (available for subscribers), Dave Meltzer shared the letter that Vince McMahon sent WWE employees after the deal with Endeavor. You can view Vince’s letter below.
“I’m excited to announce that WWE has entered into a partnership with Endeavor to create a one-of-a-kind company that will bring together two global sports and entertainment powerhouses: WWE and UFC.”
“The historic alliance of these two formidable institutions has the potential to unlock vast growth opportunities for both organizations and generate opportunities for both organizations and generate an optimal outcome for our employees, shareholders, fans, and other stakeholders. We are huge admirers of the work Endeavor has done to grow the UFC brand, and they will be the perfect partner to help supercharge our growth at WWE.”
“We are on the cusp of a new golden age for live sports entertainment, and by combining our two iconic and highly complementary properties under one roof, we will be able to fully capitalize on the rapidly expanding, global appetite for live sports events and premium content. We have some of the most engaged, passionate, and fast-growing fan bases in sports, and we are two of the only leagues capable of delivering content and events year-round.”
“Together, we are a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment colossus with a collective fan base of more than two billion people — and counting. With our decades of combined experience, complementary expertise, ,and pooled resources, we intended to create and cross-promote more premium live and on-demand content around the world.”
“As for how this impacts you, following the close of the transaction, we expect to continue to operate largely as we do now. Both WWE and UFC will become wholly owned subsidiaries of the new company but retain our separate brands, as well as our leadership teams and headquarters. I will serve as Executive Chairman of the Board, while Ari Emanuel will become the CEO of the new company and remain CEO of Endeavor. Mark Shapiro will become President of the new company and also retain his role as President of Endeavor. Nick Khan will serve as WWE President, and Dana White will continue in his role as UFC President. Paul Levesque will remain WWE’s chief content executive.”
“As of now, we expect the transaction to conclude later this year. In the meantime, it is business as usual here, and this news has no immediate impact on your day-to-day roles or responsibilities.”
The newly-mustached Vince McMahon also returned to WWE in a behind-the-scenes role this past Monday on Raw when he changed several things that took place on the show. However, it was not well received by a lot of people, especially the fans, so perhaps things will change in that regard.