USA: Endeavor becomes WME Group following the completion of its takeover by Silver Lake

Private equity firm Silver Lake has completed its acquisition of US sports and entertainment company Endeavor, which will change its name to WME Group, announced the two parties on 24/03/2025.

The parties had announced the deal for an initial consideration of $13bn (€12.01bn) on 02/04/2024. At that time, Endeavor owned 51% of TKO Group Holdings, a joint venture combining the activities of the UFC and WWE. WME Group, which retains this majority stake, subsequently sold the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), On Location and IMG (a global sports, events and entertainment agency) businesses to TKO on 24/10/2024. The deal, valued at $3.25bn (€3.09bn), is expected to close "in the first half of 2025."

"Silver Lake believes that when consolidating all of TKO's value into Endeavor, the combined total enterprise value of $25bn at $27.50 per share makes this the largest private equity sponsor public-to-private investment transaction in over a decade, and the largest ever in the media and entertainment sector," said the two entities.

WME Group includes the WME (artist and athlete representation…