Ciao, Endeavor: Ari Emanuel Gives Up CEO Role as $25 Billion Go-Private Deal Closes; the Renamed WME Group Led by Mark Shapiro
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s the end of the line for Endeavor, at least as the company’s public-facing name. On Monday, Endeavor announced the closing of the deal to go private with private-equity firm Silver Lake.
With the move, Endeavor is changing its name to WME Group, reflecting its refocusing on the representation business. According to Silver Lake, when consolidating all of the vale of TKO Group (parent of UFC, WWE and more) into Endeavor, the combined total enterprise value of the company is $25 billion — making it the largest private-equity sponsor public-to-private investment transaction in more than a decade and the largest ever in the media and entertainment sector.
Ari Emanuel, who founded the talent agency in 1995 and most recently served as CEO of Endeavor, is now executive chairman of WME Group.
He also continues as CEO and executive chair of TKO Group. In addition, Emanuel will remain an active agent for such heavyweight WME clients as Martin Scorsese, Larry David, Pete Berg and Mark Wahlberg.
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