The global sports and entertainment company, Endeavor Group Holdings, announced it has agreed to be acquired by the leading technology investor, Silver Lake. Announced Tuesday, the new acquisition will see Silver Lake pay $27.50 per share in cash for Endeavor. This price represents a 55% premium of the company’s unaffected share price as well as a 39% premium on its unaffected 30-day VWAP, Silver Lake explained.
The takeover will see Silver Lake acquire 100% of the outstanding shares in Endeavor it doesn’t already own. Considering the price per share, the company’s equity value is $13 billion, Silver Lake confirmed in its latest announcement. Silver Lake has been investing in Endeavor for more than a decade.
In fact, the company supported Endeavor’s acquisition of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) dating back to 2016, as well as the takeover of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The deal for WWE had a price tag of a whopping $9.3 billion and dates back to last year. After the completion of the aforementioned acquisition, Endeavor changed its stock symbol to TKO.
Under the acquisition, Silver Lake will take Endeavor private. However, it is important to note that TKO Group Holdings, Endeavor’s premium sports and entertainment company, will remain publicly traded after the acquisition by Silver Lake is completed.
“Silver Lake believes that when consolidating all of TKO’s value into Endeavor, the combined total enterprise value of $25 billion will make 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. On the unaffected date, the equity value was $8.2 billion, and the premium to be paid by Silver Lake represents $4.6 billion more equity value to all Endeavor stockholders,“
reads a statement released by Endeavor
A Monumental Acquisition
Mark Shapiro, Endeavor’s president and COO, spoke about the existing company assets that span multiple industries, including fashion, music, sports and entertainment. He said that those capabilities represent an unrivaled advantage for the company. Shapiro added: “This transaction further enhances our ability to deliver category-defining deals and iconic events and experiences for clients, partners, and fans around the world.”
“Consistent with our mission and underscored by this commitment being among the largest in Silver Lake’s history, we are all in on working with the Endeavor team and our trusted anchor investors to create value by accelerating growth at scale.“
Egon Durban, co-CEO and managing partner at Silver Lake
Silver Lake’s co-CEO and managing partner, Egon Durban, was just as excited, highlighting that the company is thrilled to collaborate with Endeavor’s talented leadership and team members. He said that Silver Lake helped the company grow from $350 million in annual revenue in 2012 to $6 billion currently. Finally, Durban predicted that the new acquisition would help Endeavor scale up and grow its operations while creating value at the same time.