Silver Lake just pulled off the biggest media and entertainment take-private deal in historyacquiring Endeavor (NYSE:EDR) for $27.50 a share, a 55% premium from when rumors first started flying. Endeavor is now officially off the NYSE and back in private hands. But here's the twist: it still holds a major stake in TKO Group Holdings (NYSE:TKO), which owns UFC and WWE. For investors looking for a proxy to ride this wave of sports, IP, and live content monetizationTKO is the name to watch.
With Endeavor going dark, Silver Lake is doubling down on what it calls WME Groupa powerhouse built from WME (talent agency), 160over90 (marketing), IMG Licensing, and Pantheon (unscripted content). They've brought in heavyweight co-investors like Mubadala, Michael Dell (Trades, Portfolio)'s family office, Goldman Sachs, and CPP. Silver Lake hasn't sold a single share since first investing in Endeavor back in 2012and just made it the largest bet in their global portfolio. Translation: they're all-in on this transformation.
So what's next? For public market investors, all eyes are on TKO (NYSE:TKO). With Endeavor out of the picture, TKO becomes a cleaner, more focused way to play the global appetite for premium live events and combat sports. The real story here might not be the buyout itselfbut the public gem left behind.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.免責聲明：投資有風險，本文並非投資建議，以上內容不應被視為任何金融產品的購買或出售要約、建議或邀請，作者或其他用戶的任何相關討論、評論或帖子也不應被視為此類內容。本文僅供一般參考，不考慮您的個人投資目標、財務狀況或需求。TTM對信息的準確性和完整性不承擔任何責任或保證，投資者應自行研究並在投資前尋求專業建議。