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LOS ANGELES, USA – The head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s largest mixed martial arts organization, on Tuesday, May 10 (Wednesday, May 11 in Manila), denied a report that the group is poised to be sold to a Chinese conglomerate.
UFC president Dana White told the Las Vegas Review-Journal late Tuesday that an ESPN.com report detailing a possible multi-billion-dollar sale was wide of the mark.
“The UFC is not for sale,” the Review-Journal quoted White as saying.
“The ESPN story is overblown,” he said, adding that the facts of the ESPN story “could not be further off.”
ESPN earlier reported that the UFC’s parent company Zuffa was in “advance talks” to sell the company, valued at between $3.5 and $4 billion.
Zuffa had attracted interest from at least 4 possible buyers, the report said.
ESPN earlier reported that Chinese giant Dalian Wanda, owned by billionaire tycoon Wang Jianlin, was behind the possible takeover.
Negotiations are ongoing and could be finalized by the end of July, the report added.
Led by majority owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who own 81% of the UFC, Zuffa purchased the organization from Semaphore Entertainment in 2001 for only $2 million.
White has a 9% share in the company, while the Abu Dhabi-based Flash Entertainment owns a 10% stake. – Rappler.com
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