Things could be about to get a whole lot different in Mixed Martial Arts.
Today, ESPN broke news that the UFC are reportedly in talks to sell the company, and are already in an advanced stage of business dealing.
According to ESPN sources, four bidders have made their move to acquire the Ultimate Fighting Championship, including WME/IMG, China Media Capital, The Blackstone Group and Dalian Wanda Group.
Supposedly the price, once agreed, will be between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.
The UFC is currently owned and run by the Fertitta brothers, who each share a stake of over 80% in the company. The two minority share holders are listed as UFC President Dana White, and the Abu Dhabi government ( who purchased 10% of the business for an undisclosed amount under its Flash Entertainment branch in 2010).
The Fertitta’s (as Zuffa LLC) purchased the UFC in 2001 for $2 million, back when the sport was in it’s infancy. Together with White, Zuffa has turned the fledging promotion around into a international empire, which is arguably entering it’s most successful period in its history. A private company that doesn’t reveal financial information, it’s hard to put numbers to certain aspects of the UFC’s business, but with Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey both repeatedly breaking Pay-Per-View and ticket records, it’s likely 2015 put the company in good financial shape.
In December, Lorenzo Fertitta told CNN that the UFC grossed around $600 million in revenue last year.
“As a private company, we don’t discuss speculation or rumors related to our business,” said David Sholler, vice president of public relations and athlete marketing for the UFC.
According to ESPN, currently the most likely purchaser of the UFC will be Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, chaired by Wang Jianlin, who according to Forbes, has a worth of $35 billion and is the richest man in China.
Last year, the group bought 20 percent of soccer club Atletico Madrid for a reported $48 million. The group also purchased Hollywood film studio Legendary Entertainment for roughly $3.5 billion in January.
Other bidders are said to be WME/IMG (which in fact represents the former Womens Bantamweight champion and cross over star Rousey), and the Blackstone Group, who have ties to sporting teams in the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia 76ers and Crystal Palace.
The fourth bidder is supposedly investment firm China Media Capital, which won the broadcast rights for the Chinese Super League in October. Incidentally, they beat Dalian Wanda to do so. In December, the CMC partnered with another Chinese investment group Citic Capital, and bought 13 percent of Manchester City for $400 million.
How any sale of the UFC will change the promotion is as of yet unknown. It’s plausible that any new investors will consider the current running of the show as a successful business model, and leave it to be operated as it always has.
Involved in that decision is the future of Dana White, a man considered to be heavily responsible for the UFC’s growth, as well as for the Fertitta’s decision to purchase the company in the first place.
