Endeavor shares fall after video shows UFC
boss Dana White hitting wife on New Year’s Eve https://t.co/UYisZWB28i— CNBC (@CNBC)
January 3, 2023
Endeavor, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
could be suffering the consequences of Dana White’s actions.
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According to
CNBC, the media and entertainment company saw its shares drop
nearly 6% on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing the UFC
president
slapping his wife during an altercation in Mexico on New Year’s
Eve. While White issued a statement in an interview with TMZ,
neither Endeavor nor broadcast partner ESPN have commented on the
incident.
“My wife and I were out on Saturday night on New Year’s Eve, and
unfortunately that’s what happened,” White said. “You’ve heard me
say for years, there’s never, ever an excuse for guy to put his
hands on a woman, and now here I am on TMZ talking about it. My
wife and I have been married for almost 30 years. We’ve known each
other since we were 12 years old. We’ve obviously been through some
s—t together. We’ve got three kids and this is one of those
situations that’s horrible. I’m embarrassed, but it’s also one of
those situations that right now, we’re more concerned about our
kids.
Endeavor began as a talent agency in 1995 and has since grown
rapidly through numerous acquisitions. The most notable of those
was the purchase of a controlling interest in the UFC in 2016 for
more than $4 billion, the same year that the company went public.
Endeavor bought the rest of the promotion in 2021. According to
Forbes, UFC is the most profitable asset for Endeavor in terms
of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization) margin, as it is responsible for approximately 20% of
the company’s revenue.