Last summer, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta sold most of their stock in UFC for $4 billion. Now, according to a report from Forbes, the Las Vegans have sold all of their remaining shares in the mixed martial arts enterprise. Combined, the Fertitta brothers still owned about 5.8% of UFC. They received 26% more for these shares than they did for the ones they sold last summer. This puts a valuation of $5 billion on the UFC.
The Fertitta brothers each have a net worth of $2 billion.
The selling off of the last of their shares of the UFC marks the end of an era for the brothers. They acquired the UFC in 2001 for $2 million. Back then, the UFC was a barely viable business thought to be too violent to capture the attention of a large audience. Under the Ferttitas and their longtime friend Dana White, the UFC grew into a truly viable business that attracted real athletes and fans in droves as evidenced by August match between the UFC's Conor McGregor and undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. The event made hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for everyone involved with it.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
UFC is now owned by the talent agency WME-IMG. The entertainment company has held a majority stake in the league since their buyout in August 2016. At the time, the sale was the largest deal in the history of professional sports. Since then, the $8 billion sale of Formula One racing series has claimed that title.
These days, the Fertitta brothers primarily focus on their publicly traded casino company Station Casinos as well as their new private equity firm Fertitta Capital. The firm plans to invest in consumer-facing companies, with a focus on technology, media, and entertainment. The brothers made an initial $500 million investment to form the company. The Los Angeles-based firm expects to initially invest between $20 million and $75 million in private companies.
