According to a report on Tuesday from CNBC, the new WWE-UFC company will be called TKO Group Holdings.
The report notes a spokesperson for Endeavor confirmed the new name with CNBC. TKO Group Holdings is the name that has been speculated from previous reports. As previously reported, TKO Group Holdings will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker TKO. The name is a reference to the professional fighting term “technical knockout.”
With the new deal, Endeavor and WWE hope to create a sports entertainment giant valued at more than $20 billion.
As per previous reports, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel will be the CEO of the new TKO Group, while Vince McMahon, WWE’s top controlling shareholder, will serve as the new company’s executive chairman of the new company. Endeavor will own a 51%, while WWE shareholders will own the other 49%.
Emanuel has said that he intends to run WWE with “the same playbook” that Endeavor did with UFC, which saw revenue surge 20% from 2021 to 2022.
The deal is schedule to close in the second half of this year. It was also noted that UFC and WWE will retain their respective names as part of TKO Group.
During a recent interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street”, Emanuel said “This is going to be UFC 2.0.”
The placeholder name for the company, per a SEC filing done last Friday, was listed as NEW WHALE, INC.
You can watch Scott Wapner’s the full interview with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon, below: