Silver Lake Takes Endeavor Private At $27.50 Per Share

(CTN News) – Private equity firm Silver Lake announced Tuesday that it intends to acquire Endeavor Group Holdings for $27.50 per share in a deal expected to close by the end of the year.

A brief pause in the stock price of Endeavor before Tuesday’s announcement resulted in the stock rising more than 2% Tuesday afternoon. Shares of the company were trading just under $26 each at the time.

In order to acquire the shares it does not already own, Silver Lake will acquire 100% of the shares. According to a press release from the entertainment company, Endeavor will be acquired by NBCUniversal for $13 billion in equity, according to a release from the company.

We expect the transaction to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2025, at the latest.

We are confident that public stockholders will benefit greatly from this transaction, as well as enabling it to continue the process of unlocking and investing in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company,” Endeavor’s CEO Ariel Emanuel said in a statement released earlier today.

Besides talent representation, Endeavor also works on brand licensing, live events, and talent management, through the agency WME. The industry has changed in recent years due to a number of factors.

During the year 2022, OpenBet, a platform that allows users to bet on sports, was acquired by the company as part of its expansion plans. A deal in the year 2023 was struck between IMG Academy, a sports education institution, and the company, which valued the business at $1.25 billion, for the sale of the company.

In addition to owning the UFC and WWE, Endeavor Holdings is also a majority owner of TKO Group Holdings, the company that owns the UFC. As part of the deal, TKO will remain a public company that is publicly traded on the market.

As stated previously, Endeavor was exploring strategic alternatives, including the possibility of selling the company.

Silver Lake first invested in 2012 and later supported the company in its acquisition of UFC in 2016. Egon Durban, Silverlake’s co-CEO, and Stephen Evans, Silverlake’s managing director, were both on Endeavor’s board of directors before the deal was finalized.

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