WWE and the owners of mixed martial arts franchise Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) are set to form a new £17.3bn sports entertainment brand.
A new publicly traded company will be formed that houses the UFC and WWE brands. Endeavor Group Holdings will hold a 51% controlling interest in the new company once the deal is complete. Existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% stake in the new company.
WWE executive chairman Vince McMahon will fill the same role at the company, with Dana White remaining Ultimate Fighting Championship president.
McMahon retired last year following misconduct claims but returned to the WWE board in January and suggested the company could be for sale.
A synergy already exists talent wise between WWE and UFC, with stars such as Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey crossing over between the two businesses.
The deal between Endeavor and WWE catapults WWE into a new era, after functioning as a family-run business for decades. McMahon purchased Capitol Wrestling from his father in 1982, and took the regional wrestling business to a national audience with the likes of wrestling stars such as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The company, which changed its name to World Wrestling Federation and later World Wrestling Entertainment, hosted its first WrestleMania in 1985.