The Endeavor Group are looking at strategic alternatives moving forward but is not considering the sale of WWE.
As announced on October 25th, CEO Ari Emanuel will be part of a formal evaluation of the company in hopes of raising the share price of the company due to there being a significant mismatch between the current stock price and what the company themselves believe is their value. There were also beliefs that the stock price would increase following the WWE takeover, but the share price dropped.
In regards to the future of WWE and UFC as a part of TKO Holdings, this conglomerate will not be sold as part of the strategic alternatives:
The press release is as follows:
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR) (“Endeavor” or the “Company”), a global sports and entertainment company, today announced the initiation of a formal review to evaluate strategic alternatives for the Company.
As part of this review of strategic alternatives, the Company will not consider the sale or disposition of the Company’s interest in TKO Group Holdings, Inc.
“Given the continued dislocation between Endeavor’s public market value and the intrinsic value of Endeavor’s underlying assets, we believe an evaluation of strategic alternatives is a prudent approach to ensure we are maximizing value for our shareholders,” said Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor.
Endeavor has not set a deadline or definitive timetable for the completion of the strategic alternatives review process, and there can be no assurance that this process will result in any particular outcome. The Company does not intend to comment further regarding the review of strategic alternatives until it determines disclosure is necessary or advisable.
How Will The Endeavor Announcement Affect WWE Staff?
Following the public announcement, Emanuel emailed company staff to address the upcoming changes, which Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics has publicly shared. On top of what was said in the public address, the CEO added that there is no definitive deadline to the process and WWE staff should not expect any changes to their regular schedule:
Today, Endeavor announced that it has begun a formal review of strategic alternatives. No other company has a global portfolio like Endeavor — across sports, entertainment, fashion, live events, and premium experiences. Still, Endeavor believes there is a disconnect between its public market value and the intrinsic value of its underlying assets. Given that, Endeavor has decided to evaluate strategic alternatives to ensure it is maximizing value for EDR shareholders.
As part of this review, Endeavor will not consider the sales or disposition of its interest in TKO. Endeavor has not set a deadline or definitive timetable for the completion of the process and there’s no guarantee of any specific outcome. We do not anticipate any changes to your day-to-day, and we will share more information when the need arises.
The Endeavor takeover of WWE was first announced in April the day after WrestleMania 39 and was completed in September. With the share price not what shareholders expected following the completion of the deal, Ari Emanuel has previously blamed Vince McMahon for the stock price going down.