The UFC’s owners WME-IMG have announced that they have rebranded and will now be known as Endeavor.
“WME-IMG represented a pivotal moment in our company’s history, but it does not accurately reflect the extent of our diversity or indicate where we’re headed,” Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said in a statement. “In creating Endeavor, we now have a holding company that represents the very definition of the word itself, constantly striving to push boundaries on behalf of our clients and owned properties.”
If that name sounds familiar it’s because it’s the same moniker that co-owner Ari Emanuel previously operated under when he branched out with his own talent agency back in the mid-1990’s after leaving ICM.
Emanuel later orchestrated a deal with the William Morris Agency that saw the company rebranded as William Morris Endeavor, with a subsequent acquisition of IMG further cementing them as an industry powerhouse.
Not resting on their laurels, the company have since purchased the UFC for $4 billion, along with also acquiring the likes of the Professional Bull Riders league and the Miss Universe pageant as they continue to expand their reach across the sport and entertainment spectrum.
Despite the name change, it’s essentially business as usual for the company, with Emanuel remaining at the helm as co-CEO alongside his business partner Patrick Whitesell.
