Report: Fertitta Brothers sell remaining UFC stake to WME-IMG

The Fertitta family reportedly no longer holds any stake in the UFC.

It looks to officially be the end of an era for the UFC.

According to a report from Forbes, brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta have sold their remaining stake in the company, one year removed from WME-IMG’s acquisition of the UFC for $4 billion. This concludes a run of sixteen years for the Fertittas, who bought the promotion for a mere $2 million back in 2001.

The brothers sold their remaining equity—about 5.8% between them—last month to WME-IMG, which acquired the company in August 2016, a source with knowledge of the sale told Forbes. The Fertittas received roughly a 26% premium over last year’s transaction. The new deal values UFC at approximately $5 billion.

The Fertitta brothers are each currently worth an estimated $2 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time rankings of the world’s billionaires. Reached through a representative, the brothers declined to comment on last month’s transaction.

A representative for WME-IMG and UFC also declined to comment.

This news comes just weeks after WME-IMG received $1.1 billion in investment money from the Canadian Pension Plan, as well as a Singaporean wealth fund, and “Silver Lake said in the letter that the investment will make it possible to buy out minority partners in UFC.”

On a separate note, Tilman Fertitta, a third cousin of Frank and Lorenzo, is buying the NBA’s Houston Rockets for a whopping $2.2 billion, the most expensive purchase of a franchise in league history.

The Fertitta family reportedly no longer holds any stake in the UFC.

It looks to officially be the end of an era for the UFC.

According to a report from Forbes, brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta have sold their remaining stake in the company, one year removed from WME-IMG’s acquisition of the UFC for $4 billion. This concludes a run of sixteen years for the Fertittas, who bought the promotion for a mere $2 million back in 2001.

The brothers sold their remaining equity—about 5.8% between them—last month to WME-IMG, which acquired the company in August 2016, a source with knowledge of the sale told Forbes. The Fertittas received roughly a 26% premium over last year’s transaction. The new deal values UFC at approximately $5 billion.

The Fertitta brothers are each currently worth an estimated $2 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time rankings of the world’s billionaires. Reached through a representative, the brothers declined to comment on last month’s transaction.

A representative for WME-IMG and UFC also declined to comment.

This news comes just weeks after WME-IMG received $1.1 billion in investment money from the Canadian Pension Plan, as well as a Singaporean wealth fund, and “Silver Lake said in the letter that the investment will make it possible to buy out minority partners in UFC.”

On a separate note, Tilman Fertitta, a third cousin of Frank and Lorenzo, is buying the NBA’s Houston Rockets for a whopping $2.2 billion, the most expensive purchase of a franchise in league history.