In the past couple of months rumours have been released that the UFC has been put up for sale by Dana White. This rumour was spurred by Jonathan Snowden too who released a tweet that there are strong talks in the industry that the UFC is about to be acquired by China Media Capital.
According to PurePlaytech.org the UFC can be easily valued to $6 billion, although Dana White is open to talks if somebody offers even $4 billion. Nevertheless, White has denied the rumours this month that UFC has been put up for sale, because the company has plans to expand its global reach even further.
Prior to that even ESPN released an initial report that the organization is shopping for potential buyers, where a Chinese company called Dalian Wanda Group is the main candidate. Its owner the billionaire Wang Jianlin has already capital in another sports organization, the Spanish soccer club Atletico Madrid, where he owns 20% of the share.
Despite denying all of this, Dana White says that he would have no problem if someone was ready to give him a call with that kind of money, saying that $4 billion is no joke. Even though he shut down all rumours about the selling, speculation continues to exist about the future of the company.
FOX Sports on the other hand has said that this sale might be a similar one like that done in 2010 when Flash Entertainment from Abu Dhabi invested in 10% of the company for an undisclosed amount of money. But, even that kind of sale is still just a rumour.
Currently White owns only 9% of UFC, Flash Entertainment owns 10%, while Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta hold the majority share, the remaining 81%. Ever since the Fertitta brothers invested $2 million back in 2001, the promotion has flourished, which is an example of what Dana White tries to say that the UFC is always looking to build and expand the business.
White and the Fertittas believe that UFC and the sport can be the biggest thing in the world. No matter where you promote it, it has the ability to take off like no other sport since no explanation is needed. People love to see other people fight. Of course, some places are tougher to get into, but in general this sport works everywhere.
Furthermore, he said that a purchase of another small percentage or investment by an Asian conglomerate falls easily within the plans for further expansion. It could help the organization for a dramatic expansion into the Asian market.
