Endeavour, the owner of sports data and technology company OpenBet, is to be acquired by private equity firm Silver Lake in a US$13bn deal.
Silver Lake will acquire 100 per cent of the outstanding shares in Endeavour it does not already own, other than rolled interests.
Silver Lake said that the value of the deal rises to $25bn when incorporating Endeavour-owned TKO, which operates World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The deal is therefore the “the largest private equity sponsor public-to-private investment transaction in over a decade, and the largest ever in the media and entertainment sector,” Silver Lake said.
Endeavour CEO Ariel Emanuel said: “Since 2012, Endeavor’s strategic partnership with Silver Lake and Egon Durban have been central to our evolution into the global sports and entertainment leader we are today.
“We believe this transaction will maximise value for all of Endeavor’s public stockholders and are excited to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company.”
Egon Durbon, co-CEO and managing partner of Silver Lake – and chairman of Endeavour’s board – said: “This is a very special partnership. Together, we have built and grown Endeavor from $350m in annual revenue when we first invested in 2012 to nearly $6bn in consolidated revenue today.
“Now, Endeavor can take advantage of its unique core platform to meet the dynamic forces driving growth in content, sports and live events with bold vision.
“Consistent with our mission and underscored by this commitment being among the largest in Silver Lake’s history, we are all in on working with the Endeavor team and our trusted anchor investors to create value by accelerating growth at scale.”
Endeavour recently announced that it is integrating its IMG Arena data business into OpenBet.
