Report: UFC owners in talks to sell company for up to $4 billion
UFC owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta are in advanced talks to sell the company for as much as $4 billion, sources told Darren Rovell of ESPN.
Rovell reports four bidders - WME/IMG, China Media Capital, The Blackstone Group, and Dalian Wanda Group - have submitted offers and the eventual price tag will be between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.
I was told last week that China's Wanda Group was the current front-runner in these talks and the sale could be announced as soon as July.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 11, 2016
Zuffa LLC, the Fertitta's parent company that owns UFC, took in $200 million to $250 million in 2015 and is being represented by investment firm Goldman Sachs.
"As a private company, we don't discuss speculation or rumors related to our business," David Sholler, vice president of public relations and athlete marketing for the UFC, told Rovell.
The Fertittas reportedly bought the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Tuesday, according to Richard N. Velotta of The Las Vegas Review-Journal, but it's unknown if the deal is related to anything going on with the UFC.
Zuffa bought UFC for $2 million in 2001.