CNBC reports that Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor (ticker: EDR) will acquire WWE (ticker: WWE).

• CNBC is in a position to know the deal outcome as its parent company Comcast (ticker: CMCSA) is a WWE partner and was the natural acquirer in our view.
• As we wrote last week, dark horse Endeavor is in the events / pay-per-view business via its ownership of the UFC. Endeavor founder and CEO Ari Emanuel has been bold since acquiring the UFC – especially in his acquiring real estate in Las Vegas and signing off on a deal with Abu Dhabi – both investments enabled the UFC to hold live events during the COVID peak.
• It would make sense for Endeavor to spin off the UFC and WWE into a separately-traded public company in order for those two operating units to achieve a full valuation.

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