Reports: Fertitta brothers accept $4.2 billion bid to sell UFC

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**Byte**

-Sporting News

Brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta bought UFC in 2001 through their company, Zuffa LLC, for $2 million. They're getting a major return on investment.

According to multiple reports, the brothers agreed Monday to sell UFC for $4.2 billion.

While it's unclear who made the winning bid, there were at least four major bidders. The leading contender was a group composed of WME/IMG, the Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda, The Kraft Group, and Chinese investment company Tencent Holdings Limited, according to Jeremy Botter of FloSports.

A UFC spokesperson declined to comment on "Internet rumors and speculation."

The Kraft Group is led by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. That might not be the only NFL tie with the Fertitta brothers reportedly interested in using their new-found fortune to help bring the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas.

UFC president Dana White, who was a minority owner with a 9 percent stake, is expected to remain in his position.

**Kilkrazy**

What a world we live in.

These guys spent years to build up a real world entertainment business that provides employment for thousands of people, and get $4.2 billion.

The LinkedIn guys make a business version of Facebook and get $26 billion.

**jhe90**

Anyone could have bought it.

Not everyone couldd have made it worth 4.2 billion.

**nels1031**

Looks like the sale is final, with WME/ IMG getting the winning bid.

UFC, a mixed martial arts organization that was purchased in 2000 for $2 million, has been sold for a reported $4 billion in what is the largest transaction in history for a sports organization.

William Morris Endeavor, along with International Management Group, announced the sale of the organization, which is primarily owned by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, in a news release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although the Las Vegas CBS affiliate reported that the sales price was $4 billion.

UFC President Dana White and Ari Emanuel, who is co-chief executive of one of the purchasers, had previously confirmed the sale to ESPN and the Associated Press after news of the eye-popping transaction broke Sunday night. In addition to WME-IMG (and its owner Silver Lake Partners), the new owners will be the private equity company KKR and MSD Capital, the investment firm of billionaire Michael Dell. WME-IMG is a leading talent agency and its clients include UFC superstar Ronda Rousey.

“We’ve been fortunate over the years to represent UFC and a number of its remarkable athletes,” WME-IMG co-CEOs Patrick Whitesell and Emanuel said in a joint statement statement on UFC.com. “It’s been exciting to watch the organization’s incredible growth over the last decade under the leadership of the Fertitta brothers, Dana White and their dedicated team. We’re now committed to pursuing new opportunities for UFC and its talented athletes to ensure the sport’s continued growth and success on a global scale.”

Lorenzo Fertitta, the UFC CEO who purchased the company along with his brother Frank, is expected to remain as chairman through the transition. Fertitta and his brother Frank together own about 80 percent of the company. White, who owns about 9 percent of the company, is expected to retain an ownership stake. The Abu Dhabi government’s Flash Entertainment is a 10 percent owner of UFC, whose parent company is Zuffa LLC. (Zuffa is Italian for “fight.”)

In May, White had dismissed talk that a sale was imminent, telling the “Dan Patrick Show” that “we’re not up for sale.” And White reiterated that in an interview with the Los Angeles Times early last week.

“We’re always working on deals and our expansion globally,” White told Patrick in May. “I’ve been saying since this thing came out, no, we’re not for sale, but let me tell you what. If somebody shows up with $4 billion, we can talk. We can definitely talk.”

Well, somebody did and they did more than talk.

In the last decade of its 23-year history, UFC has become a global sports force, with the privately held company generating an estimated $600 million in revenue last year, and has attracted a growing audience of millennials, a group coveted by advertisers and TV networks. It says its fights are shown in more than 156 countries and its events are the top sellers on pay-per-view TV. The Fertittas, who made their first fortune as casino owners, estimate that 30 million to 40 million people watch their biggest pay-per-view events, according to the New York Times.

Over the weekend, UFC 200 drew more than 18,000 fans to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas despite the absence of Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor, the sport’s biggest stars. The card, which also featured the crossover of WWE star Brock Lesnar, was thrown into disarray late last week when Jon Jones was scratched because he tested positive for an undisclosed substance.

Will be interesting to see in the years ahead. I love the UFC and try to watch pretty much all of them.

**Easy E**

If the NFL, MLB, and NHL all have "Concussion" related issues, how does the UFC avoid that kind of stuff?

I ask as that would be a major concern for me as a potential buyer. it seems like there could be a lot of legal risk involved in this acquisition.

**Gitzbitah**

Easy E wrote:
If the NFL, MLB, and NHL all have "Concussion" related issues, how does the UFC avoid that kind of stuff?

I ask as that would be a major concern for me as a potential buyer. it seems like there could be a lot of legal risk involved in this acquisition.

My understanding of the damage of concussions is that it is at its most dangerous in a swift, repeated concussion state. It appears most UFC fighters only fight once every 4 to 5 months- which would limit their exposure to repeated concussion syndrome.

http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/how-often-ufc-champions-defend-title.2875229/

Think about their average time in the ring, with someone trying to hurt them, and compare it to the time an NFL player spends getting battered. Baseball and the NFL would be more infrequent, but more cataclysmic events- I don't think any UFC fighter is slamming someone into the ground as hard as a pitcher can peg someone with an errant fastball, or an NBA player being fouled while trying to dunk.

There are certainly injuries and deaths in UFC, and I'm sure there is an insurance infrastructure to mitigate this. Oddly enough, I'd consider the sport arguably safer than the NFL in terms of concussions.

**nels1031**

Easy E wrote:
If the NFL, MLB, and NHL all have "Concussion" related issues, how does the UFC avoid that kind of stuff?

I ask as that would be a major concern for me as a potential buyer. it seems like there could be a lot of legal risk involved in this acquisition.

A UFC fighter will be sidelined for 90 days minimum, sometimes even longer, depending on the doctors orders after displaying concussion symptons or being a recipient of a knockout.

Contrast that to an NFL player who was concussed, who will be sidelined on average 16-18 days.

Even with all the bad press the NFL has gotten recently, their concussion protocols are a joke compared to the UFC's.

@gitzbitah

As far as I know, there have been no deaths in the UFC, there have been in the sport of MMA in general, but none in the UFC organization.

**Ensis Ferrae**

nels1031 wrote:

As far as I know, there have been no deaths in the UFC, there have been in the sport of MMA in general, but none in the UFC organization.

I thought there were way back in the mid-90s, before they instituted weight classes and the like??

**TheMeanDM**

Everytime I read something about these brothers and see their name, I think of these brothers.....

**nels1031**

Ensis Ferrae wrote:
nels1031 wrote:

As far as I know, there have been no deaths in the UFC, there have been in the sport of MMA in general, but none in the UFC organization.

I thought there were way back in the mid-90s, before they instituted weight classes and the like??

Not that I'm aware of.

I'd think with whoever it was, he'd probably be an almost household name if he did die in the Octagon, as he'd be brought up in every state hearing on whether MMA should be legalized, regardless of what moves were legal or weight classes and such. I followed the legalization proceedings in New York just recently, and I'm sure it would've been brought up to fuel the case of the anti-MMA lobbyists and which ever lawmaker they purchased.

**Ensis Ferrae**

nels1031 wrote:
Ensis Ferrae wrote:
nels1031 wrote:

As far as I know, there have been no deaths in the UFC, there have been in the sport of MMA in general, but none in the UFC organization.

I thought there were way back in the mid-90s, before they instituted weight classes and the like??

Not that I'm aware of.

I'd think with whoever it was, he'd probably be an almost household name if he did die in the Octagon, as he'd be brought up in every state hearing on whether MMA should be legalized, regardless of what moves were legal or weight classes and such. I followed the legalization proceedings in New York just recently, and I'm sure it would've been brought up to fuel the case of the anti-MMA lobbyists and which ever lawmaker they purchased.

IIRC, there was a documentary episode on UFC http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0523515/ (I haven't found a video link to it yet), but I seem to recall it being mentioned in it, specifically because UFC had to defend itself from the likes of John McCain (this was back in the days of no weight classes)

**Chongara**

Kilkrazy wrote:
What a world we live in.

These guys spent years to build up a real world entertainment business that provides employment for thousands of people, and get $4.2 billion.

The LinkedIn guys make a business version of Facebook and get $26 billion.

Once you get into the billions of dollars, what's the difference between 4 and 26 on a human scale anyway? You could spend $200k a day for the rest of your life with 4 billion dollars and not burn through it. I'm not sure there is a person alive that could survive the levels of hedonism needed to miss the other 20.

**sebster**

Easy E wrote:
If the NFL, MLB, and NHL all have "Concussion" related issues, how does the UFC avoid that kind of stuff?

I ask as that would be a major concern for me as a potential buyer. it seems like there could be a lot of legal risk involved in this acquisition.

I don't think the major concern with concussion is the legal liability but the loss of general fanbase and sponsors. Boxing was once one of the biggest sports in the world, but the public started to see it as a bloodsport and so it moved out of the mainstream. I think that's the concern for sports like NFL.

The UFC is huge, $4.2 billion worth of huge, but it isn't a sport for the overall public like NFL. It isn't pitching to a thanksgiving crowd. It is already seen as a bloodsport, that's basically it's niche.

I'm not saying they don't do all kinds of good things to make sure their athletes are safe, just that public perception isn't in the same ballpark as it is for sports like NFL.

**BigWaaagh**

TheMeanDM wrote:
Everytime I read something about these brothers and see their name, I think of these brothers.....

Personally, I could think of 4.2 billion differences.