Co-Owners, UFC, Lorenzo Fertitta (L) and Frank Fertitta. AFP FILE PHOTO
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) banner has been under Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta’s care since 2001, but according to an ESPN report, the reigns of power might just be shifting in a different direction pretty soon.
The casino tycoons are reportedly in heavy discussions about selling the premier MMA promotion, as four bidders have emerged as potential new buyers.
Among the parties interested in seeking complete ownership are WME/IMG, China Media Capital, The Blackstone Group and Dalian Wanda Group, said ESPN business insider, Daren Rovell.
The China-based Dalian Wanda Group is reportedly ahead of the pack in landing the deal which supposedly could go somewhere between $3.5 and $4 billion.
Wanda Group is China’s biggest private property development and world’s largest cinema chain operator.
The company’s owner, Wang Jianlin, has been referred to as the richest person in Asia with a net worth of over $28.7 billion.
He also owns 20 percent of the Atletico Madrid soccer team.
The proposed sale, however, is still at its early stages and the situation is still very fluid.
Meanwhile, UFC vice president of public relations Dave Sholler dispelled the reports and refused to divulge details regarding the issue.
“As a private company, we don’t discuss speculation or rumors related to our business,” he told ESPN on Wednesday.
The Fertitta brothers alongside close friend Dana White, led the promotion’s rise to prominence in the early 2000’s, after cleansing MMA’s early ’barbaric’ image to the public, which was unfit for mainstream television at the time.
After purchasing the UFC for $2 million in 2001, the pair formed Zuffa LLC and named with the younger Lorenzo, as Chief Operating Officer.
He publicly declared that the promotion made $600 million in revenue in 2015—its best year ever.
The UFC is still regarded as the world leader in Mixed Martial Arts promotion and has even bought out previous competitors like Pride Fighting Championship, Strikeforce and the World Extreme Cagefighting. Khristian Ibarrola