Flash Entertainment has sold its 10% UFC stake to Endeavor according to Arabian Business.
MMA Fighting has also reported and confirmed the sale by the Abu Dhabi-based company. There are no reports on the amount it sold its stake in the company. “After almost 10 years the time was right to exit that investment,” Lickrish is quoted by Arabian Business.
Flash kept its 10% stake in the company after the sale to WME-IMG (now ‘Endeavor’) for $4 billion.
Dana White recently boasted that the company is now valued at $7 billion although that has not been independently confirmed.
Flash Entertainment is wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi government. It purchased a stake in the UFC in 2010 for a reported to an amount between $150 million and $175 million. You might recall that the UFC put on a PPV in Abu Dhabi, UFC 112. It was a mid-afternoon PPV on a Saturday in the United States to accommodate the show at the Concert Arena on Yas Island. The event drew 500,000 PPV buys. It also held a Fight Night in 2014.
Last year, Endeavor purchased the 5.8 percent of the company retained by the Fertittas in the initial sale for a price valuation of $5 billion.
Payout Perspective:
The transaction seems to close out all minor investors in the UFC pre-sale to Endeavor. Based on estimates, Flash Entertainment may have made between $500-$700 million with its investment. It might have been time to cash out as well as Endeavor seeking to retain full control over the company.
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