Report: Endeavor seeks full UFC ownership in new push to go public

Endeavor, the talent agency that owns just a shade more than half of the UFC, wants to make a push for 100 percent ownership of the promotion ahead of another potential bid to go public, according to a report.

The New York Post on Thursday reported Endeavor, headed up by Ari Emanuel, is working on a plan to buy the other half of the UFC it doesn’t currently own. Endeavor owns 50.1 percent of the promotion. Much of the other 49.9 percent is owned by the Silver Lake and KKR investment firms.

The impetus for the potential buyouts to get Endeavor to 100 percent UFC ownership, according to the report, is so Endeavor can once again make a play for an initial public offering (IPO) to become a publicly traded company. Endeavor first went down that road in 2019, but ultimately pulled out of the effort.

Endeavor reportedly struggled financially in 2020 due to the pandemic, but the one property that kept it flowing the most was the UFC. According to the Post, the UFC amounted to 80 percent of Endeavor’s 2020 profits. Before the pandemic, the UFC was bringing in roughly half of Endeavor’s earnings.

Just how much buying the rest of the UFC might cost Endeavor is unknown, but it’s clear the UFC already is Endeavor’s most important property from a financial standpoint.

The UFC bounced back quicker than most sports during the pandemic and has been holding nearly weekly events for months now at its UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, as well as on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi. But next month, it will return to full arenas with UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Fla., followed by UFC 262 in Houston.