Report: Endeavor to buy WWE and pair it with UFC in new company

Jan 18, 2018; Stamford, CT, USA; WWE founder and chairman Vince McMahon poses for a portrait photo. McMahon announced that the XFL will re-launch in 2020. Mandatory Credit: Craig Ambrosio/Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports

It looks like WWE may soon have a new owner.

CNBC reported on Sunday that Endeavor, which is the parent company of the UFC, is planning to buy a controlling interest in WWE. The report says that Endeavor would then pair WWE and the UFC together in its own publicly-traded company.

Endeavor used to be a Hollywood talent agency, but they began to expand through mergers and purchases, with an eye on becoming a publicly-traded company. They purchased the UFC in 2016 and later became a public company with an IPO in 2021.

The new deal would give Endeavor a 51 percent ownership stake in WWE, according to the report. The remaining 49 percent of the wrestling company would be held by stockholders.

WWE has been a publicly-traded company since 1999, though Vince McMahon and members of his family have held a controlling interest in the company. If this deal goes through, McMahon would no longer have a controlling interest in WWE.

The deal reportedly gives WWE an enterprise value of $9.3 billion, while valuing WWE at more than $12 billion.