TKO Broadens Horizons: Buys PBR, On Location, and IMG

Big things are happening in the world of sports! TKO Group, the company that's home to WWE and UFC, is diving into new territories. They're snapping up three big businesses from Endeavor Group for a cool $3. 25 billion. These businesses? Professional Bull Riders (PBR), luxury event organizer On Location, and media rights experts IMG. The deal is all about stock, and Endeavor will now own a slightly bigger piece of TKO, upping their share from 53% to 59%. Why are they doing this? It's all about expanding their reach. TKO wants to go beyond just running sports leagues. With PBR, they're getting a whole new league to manage. But that's not all. They're also stepping into the luxury hospitality game with On Location and boosting their media know-how with IMG. Mark Shapiro, who's in charge of both Endeavor and TKO, says sports bring people together like never before. TKO is keen on owning leagues and supporting their current sports ecosystem. That means things like ticket sales, fancy event experiences, and understanding media rights. IMG and On Location fit right into that plan. This move comes after a private equity firm, Silver Lake, wanted to make Endeavor private. Part of that deal was selling off some assets, and that's where TKO stepped in. They formed a special committee to look into the deal and ended up recommending it to their board. PBR is a big deal, putting on over 200 events each year for more than a million fans. On Location makes major sporting events even better with their luxury services, from the Super Bowl to the Olympics. And IMG? They're pros at packaging media rights and partnerships, helping out big leagues like the NFL, English Premier League, and more. To top it off, TKO is also starting an annual dividend of $300 million and has the green light to buy back up to $2 billion of their Class A common stock.