Recent rumors cited that the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is up for sale. The owners of the company are allegedly discussing the potential of selling, and there are already interested buyers that are willing to pay billions.
UFC President Dana White Refutes the Rumors
However, UFC president Dana White confirmed that the claims are not true. He emphasized that the UFC is not for sale.
"Yeah, we're not up for sale. We're always working on deals and our expansion globally. I've been saying since this thing came out: No, we're not for sale. But let me tell you what: If somebody shows up with $4 billion, we can talk. We can definitely talk,” White said on "The Dan Patrick Show."
ESPN reported that Dave Sholler, UFC vice president of public relations and athlete marketing, said that as a private company, they do not discuss rumors related to their business.
UFC Focuses on Expanding
White added that they are discussing on a deal at the moment, although he suggested that the focus is more on expanding the company to other areas like Japan, China and Korea.
So far, a number of entities have reportedly forwarded their bids to purchase the UFC, namely China Media Capital, WME/IMG, Dalian Wanda Group and The Blackstone Group. The highest bid may range from $3.5 to $4 billion. However, Blackstone commented that the UFC is not considering a bid. I
nsiders shared that the bid book was prepared by The Raine Group on behalf of Zuffa LLC, the current UFC owners, and sent to potential bidders in March 2016. Zuffa bought the UFC in 2001 for $2 million. The Dalian Wanda Group is the likely winner if a bid actually ensues.
Fox Sports noted that if the UFC, or any portion of it, is actually for sale, it may be another stake in the business, similar to the one that happened in 2010. That was when Flash Entertainment from Abu Dhabi invested in 10 percent of the company for an unknown sum of money.
If a deal takes place, it may focus more on the company’s vision to further expand worldwide. At present, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta own 81 percent, Dana White owns nine percent, and Flash Entertainment owns 10 percent of the UFC.
