Forbes.com reports that Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta have divested fully from the UFC. According to sources from Forbes.com, the Fertittas have sold the remaining shares they owned in the UFC this past August.
The Fertittas had 5.8% of the shares in the company WME-IMG purchased last July.
With the sale, the Fertittas are no longer owners of the company they saved from bankruptcy and built into an empire. According to the report, Zuffa is now valued at $5 billion.
Last month, it was reported that it received $1.1 billion in capital infusion. It looks like this deal may have coincided with the cashout by the Fertittas.
Payout Perspective:
We should note that the Fertittas nor Zuffa responded to the story so this may still be speculation as far as the sale of shares. You may recall that the Fertittas were due earn outs at certain benchmarks.
From Moody’s:
WME Parent is subject to a $175 million contingent acquisition payment upon the achievement of $275 million in EBITDA (but not earlier than June 30, 2017) and $75 million payable upon achieving $350 million of LTM EBITDA (but not earlier than December 31st 2018).
It’s not know if Zuffa achieved these goals. Still, a great financial decision by the Fertittas and the capital will likely help its other endeavors. Despite a down year for PPV, it looks like the valuation of the company has gone up since the purchase with a $5 billion valuation.
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