Endeavor officially goes private as Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell change roles

Nearly four years after becoming a public company, Beverly Hills-based entertainment business Endeavor was taken private on Monday by private equity firm Silver Lake Partners with significant leadership changes.

Endeavor announced it was exploring its options in 2023 after executives were frustrated by its stock price. Some investors didn’t fully buy into Endeavor’s strategy of buying up different companies in sports and entertainment to create a greater empire.

Silver Lake bought the outstanding shares it did not own in Endeavor, with Endeavor shareholders receiving $27.50 in cash for Class A stock, a 55% premium to the $17.72 a share at the close of market on Oct. 25, 2023.

The private equity firm said it believes this is the largest private equity sponsor public-to-private investment transaction in more than a decade and the largest in the media and entertainment sector, valuing Endeavor at $25 billion (when factoring in sports and entertainment business TKO, which Endeavor owns).

Endeavor is the single largest position in Silver Lake’s global portfolio, said Egon Durban, co-chief executive and managing partner of Silver Lake, in a statement.

“Silver Lake has never sold a share, instead increasing our stake as we remain highly excited about the long-term growth outlook for the company,” Durban said.

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The company became a publicly traded company in 2021, after delaying its original IPO in 2019 due to unstable market conditions.

Endeavor has taken steps to try to boost its stock, including a deal in 2023 to merge its UFC business with World Wrestling Entertainment in a new publicly traded company called TKO. Endeavor owns about 61% of TKO.

But Endeavor’s stock continued to decline, leading the company to explore its strategic options. Since then, the company has sold some of its businesses.

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In 2024, Endeavor reported revenue of $7.1 billion, up 30% from the previous year. The company had a net loss in 2024 of $1.2 billion, compared to a net gain of $557 million in 2023.

Ari Emanuel, previously Endeavor’s CEO, will become executive chairman of the WME Group, which includes Beverly Hills talent agency WME, IMG Licensing, marketing agency 160over90 and unscripted content business Pantheon Media Group. Emanuel will remain CEO and executive chair of TKO.

“Together, we have created and enhanced a foundation unlike any other to accelerate value creation for clients and partners across WME Group and TKO, which I am excited to continue to build and grow,” Emanuel said in a statement.

Mark Shapiro, previously president and chief operating officer of Endeavor, is now president and managing partner of WME Group. He remains president and COO of TKO.

Christian Muirhead and Richard Weitz are co-chairmen of the WME Group.

Patrick Whitesell, previously executive chairman of Endeavor, will become CEO of a new platform in partnership with Silver Lake “to invest in and scale properties and [intellectual property]across sports, media, and entertainment,” Endeavor said. Silver Lake will give Whitesell $250 million in seed capital to put into his new business, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year.

Whitesell is in the process of acquiring a part of WME’s business that represents football players, according to a person familiar with the situation who declined to be named.

“Our industry is in the very early stages of a generational transformation,” Whitesell said in a statement. “I have never seen a more promising time for bold and ambitious entrepreneurs, creatives and athletes.”