UFC officials set to announce sale for $4 billion
A rumored sale of the Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship will be made official with an announcement on Monday morning, the Review-Journal has confirmed with sources close to the organization.
Online reports that the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion was on the market for approximately $4 billion first surfaced in May at Flocombat.com.
At the time, UFC president Dana White denied the reports to the Review-Journal. UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta has declined comment on several occasions.
As late as early Sunday afternoon, when asked about whether the organization planned to announce the sale on Monday, a UFC representative said White and Fertitta would not be taking interview requests or commenting on any speculation.
According to the New York Times, a deal has formally been struck with a group led by talent agency WME-IMG. Papers were signed over the weekend as the organization was holding three events in three nights in Las Vegas, headlined by UFC 200 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Lorenzo Fertitta will be out as CEO of the new company, but White is expected to remain as president.
“I’m obviously bummed about not being in business with my best friend and my partners of 20 years,” White said in a text message to the Review-Journal late Sunday. “I am happy about the future of the UFC, the sport and my role moving forward.”
Rumors of a potential sale of the UFC have been floated at various times over the last few years, but the intensity picked up after ESPN’s Darren Rovell reported in May the organization was in “advanced talks” with several potential groups about purchasing the company Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, operating as Zuffa LLC, bought in 2001 for $2 million.
At the time, UFC president Dana White vehemently denied the report to the Review-Journal.
“The UFC is not for sale,” White told the Review-Journal on May 10. “The ESPN story is overblown. Darren Rovell is not a fan of facts. His facts could not be further off.”
While Fertitta sidestepped questions about whether the company was for sale during an interview with the Review-Journal in June, he did admit to taking a certain amount of pride in seeing a number like $4 billion attached to a company he helped build.
“I think what it is you can look at it when somebody is reporting that, whether it’s true or not true, it’s fulfilling to know that we built something that most importantly is sustainable,” he said. “It’s a sustainable business that is here. It’s arrived, and it’s not going anywhere no matter what happens.”
The Fertittas are believed to each own just over 40 percent of the company, with White around 9 percent and Flash Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi government, owning the remaining 10 percent.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj
