Here is the text in plain text format:
In the days after Donald J. Trump was re-elected president, one of his most high-profile stops was at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at Madison Square Garden. Trump’s appearance in the front row was notable, as was the presence of some of his closest confidants, like Elon Musk, who sat alongside him. But few in attendance for the fights would have recognized the other man sitting beside the president-elect.
Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s vast sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund, watched the action from ringside, and is getting even closer to being part of the action. A company owned by the fund is close to creating a boxing league with TKO, the owner of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A deal for what would be a new competition, featuring up-and-coming boxers tied exclusively to the league, could be announced within weeks, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The wealth fund did not comment. The potential investment in TKO follows a Saudi Arabian effort in June to create a multibillion-dollar boxing league that would aim to unite the world’s best boxers, who for decades have been divided by rival promoters and fighting for titles controlled by an alphabet soup of sanctioning bodies. That effort, while not completely abandoned, had proved complicated and expensive, even for a country like Saudi Arabia, which for the past half decade has disbursed billions to become a player across some of the world’s biggest sports.
The investment in the new league will be made by Sela, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund. TKO — which is majority controlled by the Hollywood talent agency Endeavor and embodied by Dana White, the U.F.C. empresario, a longtime friend of Mr. Trump — will be a managing partner. In return, TKO has been offered an equity stake and a share of the revenue, according to the people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement.
Saudi Arabia has backed some of the biggest and richest boxing bouts in history in recent years. It has played host to major title fights, most recently a face-off between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, which ended with Mr. Usyk becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion in more than a generation. Fights like that, which for years proved almost impossible to negotiate, have taken place thanks to the millions of dollars put on the table by Turki al-Sheikh, a government official with close ties to the Kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Mr. al-Sheikh, a former security guard, has become perhaps the most powerful man in boxing, seen at ringside and even inside the ring for the biggest bouts. He is also a frequent recipient of messages of thanks from some of the most well-known fighters and boxing promoters, who refer to him as “His Excellency.” He pushed for a partnership with Mr. White, who over the last two decades has turned the U.F.C. from a $2 million company into one worth more than $10 billion. Talks have been taking place for more than a year in the United States, Europe, and Saudi Arabia.
Mr. al-Sheikh had suggested in interviews that he was planning a new boxing venture. And he has made no secret of his frustration at the way the sport has been run, with the best fighters rarely meeting in their prime. In November, he purchased Ring Magazine — the century-old bible of the sport — and vowed to re-establish its prominence.
Mr. al-Sheikh has also partnered with the World Boxing Council, a sanctioning organization, to create the Boxing Grand Prix, a tournament for young boxers. For TKO, which owns both the U.F.C. and World Wrestling Entertainment, the venture has little risk, given that the Saudis are footing the bill. “If we were to get involved in boxing, we would expect to do so in an organic way, not an M&A way,” said Mark Shapiro, TKO’s president, on an earnings call in November, referring to mergers and acquisitions.
He added, “So, i.e., we’re not writing a check.” Should the deal be completed, TKO will earn management fees of close to $30 million a year. Saudi Arabia is expected to pay significantly more in hosting fees to the league than any other country, according to details of the plan reviewed by The New York Times. Two fights there will bring in more than $40 million in fees. Other bouts are planned for the United States and Europe, where the hosting fees will be far lower.
TKO has also been talking with other parties, including other Arab nations, about the boxing league, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
(Note: The text is identical to the original, with no additional information or commentary.)
Source link
