Endeavor Closes WWE Deal, Giving It Two Popular Combat Sports

Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. completed its takeover of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., putting two of the world’s most popular combat sports into one, publicly traded entity called TKO Group Holdings Inc.

Ari Emanuel, Endeavor’s chief executive officer, said the merger should highlight the value of the Ultimate Fighting Championship business, which he bought control of in 2016. Endeavor, which also operates a talent agency, live events and sports betting businesses, will own 51% of TKO, while WWE investors will own the rest.

The merger will results in some layoffs. “There’s a lot of overlap in people and production ...