TKO Group Holdings has completed a $3.25 billion deal to acquire On Location, Professional Bull Riders and IMG from its majority owner Endeavor Group Holdings. Endeavor is expected to own approximately 61% of TKO.
“These industry-leading businesses will strengthen our portfolio of world-class IP and capabilities, helping us further capitalize on the momentum of the growing sports and entertainment ecosystem,” TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro said in a statement. “By enhancing our expertise in sports rights, production and premium events and experiences, we are better positioned to power the growth of UFC, WWE and our extraordinary roster of partners.”
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial advisor to TKO. The Raine Group served as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Endeavor. Moelis & Company LLC served as financial advisor to TKO’s special committee and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP as legal advisor to TKO’s special committee.
IMG is a global sports marketing agency that serves over 200 rights holders — including The R&A (The British Open), the All England Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon) and Major League Soccer (MLS) — across media rights, production, brand partnerships, digital content and event management. The TKO acquisition does not include businesses associated with the IMG brand in licensing, models and tennis and golf representation, nor IMG’s full events portfolio, which remain part of Endeavor.
Professional Bull Riders organizes more than 200 annual live events featuring over 1,000 bull riders, including the the televised PBR Unleash the Beast tour (UTB), the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD) as well as the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil and Canada. In 2022, PBR launched the PBR Teams league and the PBR Challenger Series with more than 60 annual events nationwide. The organization’s digital assets also include PBR RidePass on Pluto TV, which is home to Western sports.
On Location provides premium experiences for fans attending more than 1,200 sporting events, including the NFL, FIFA World Cup 26, and the 2026 and 2028 Olympic Games in Milano Cortina and Los Angeles.
The deal’s completion comes as Silver Lake is set to acquire Endeavor and take it private at an equity value of $13 billion. When consolidating TKO Group Holdings’ value into Endeavor, the private equity firm estimates the company has a total enterprise value of $25 billion.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. TKO is not party to this transaction and will remain a publicly traded company.
In November, Endeavor entered into an agreement to sell OpenBet and IMG Arena to OB Global Holdings LLC in a $450 million management buyout backed by Emanuel with participation from executives of OpenBet.
It is also reviewing a possible sale of certain events within its portfolio, including but not limited to the Miami Open and Madrid Open tennis tournaments and art platform Frieze. No definitive timetable has been set for completion of the review process, and there’s no assurance the review will result in any specific action.
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