Ari Emanuel ‘s Endeavor is shuffling its sports entertainment deck. Endeavor’s majority-owned sports entertainment group TKO is purchasing IMG , On Location and Professional Bull Riders (PBR) from its parent company in a $3.25B all-equity deal, an announcement today revealed.
TKO is already the parent of the WWE and UFC, and will now house more of Endeavor’s assets, with sports and media agency, producer and distributor IMG, hospitality company On Location and bull riding league PBR added to the group. Once the deal closes, Endeavor will receive around 26 million common units of TKO Operating Company and will subscribe for an equal number of TKO’s Class B common stock. This will leave Endeavor owning approximately 59% of TKO, with other existing shareholders holding the other 41%.
Endeavor noted the $3.25B price tag was “subject to purchase price adjustments to be settled in cash and equity.” In further news, TKO’s board has authorized a share repurchase program of up to $2B of Class A common stock.
A quarterly cash dividend program has been initiated, from which TKO shareholders will receive a quarterly pro rata share of $75M. “Today’s announcements reflect the continued strength of our underlying business and our commitment to deploying capital through a balanced capital allocation strategy, including through our share repurchase program and quarterly cash dividend program,” said Emanuel, who is Executive Chairman and CEO of TKO and Chief Exec of Endeavo.
