250K to Play: The 23 New Celebrity Owners of the UFC (incl. Conan O'Brien & Jimmy Kimmel) LoL

[ReadWrite]

Cam Newton, Tom Brady, Ben Affleck, Sly Stallone among 23 celebrity UFC owners

UFC is going Hollywood ... and mainstream.

As part of the WME-IMG-backed $4 billion acquisition of UFC in July, nearly two dozen celebrities have become partial owners of the mixed martial arts company.

Among those celebrities are athletes, musicians and both movie and television stars, including: The Weekend, Adam Levine, Anthony Kiedis, Ben Affleck, Calvin Harris, Cam Newton, Conan O'Brien, Flea, Guy Fieri, Jimmy Kimmel, Li Na, LL COOL J, Maria Sharapova, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Bay, Rob Dyrdek, Robert Kraft, Serena Williams, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Brady, Trey Parker, Tyler Perry and Venus Williams.

Newton, Brady, Kraft, Sharapova and the Williams sisters obviously stand out from the sports world, while Levine, Affleck, Stallone and Perry are some of Hollywood's biggest names.

"Expanding our ownership group to include this caliber of talent and entrepreneurs is a strong indicator of UFC's fast-growing global presence," said UFC president Dana White in a statement released by the company. "Our new investors bring an incredible depth of knowledge and experience to help us continue to elevate this brand and capitalize on its entertainment and sports crossover appeal."

According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, each celebrity was required to invest a minimum of $250,000 as part of their ownership stake. The Wall Street Journal notes that the aforementioned celebrities are fans of UFC because "they would always ask for tickets," according to WME-IMG co-CEO Ari Emanuel, who solicited the investments.

http://www.cbssports.com/mma/news/

 

[GSP_37]

Only Sylvester, Red Hot Chili Peppers, South Park, and Marky Mark.

 

[Fraz]

I love it, they should have ads between rounds on UFC Fightpass to promote their new movies/albums etc.

 

[INoHespectChael]

Where's the Biebs?

 

[GangstaBoogie]

Its great. It only helps promote the brand. And keep in mind 23 people going in 250k each on a 4 billion dollar deal would give them roughly 7% share. Literally nothing if you are worried these celebrities are going to somehow "run" the operation.

 

[blackbox90s]

Connections are everything.

Take away Stallone. Mark w. ll cool j. The rest are just odd man.

 

[LouisBolanos]

250K to these people is like 25 bucks to a regular person or 25 cents to me. Means jack slack to them.

My favorite of all the celebs is Marky Mark because he used to beat the shit out of minorities like me.

 

[markg171]

Guy Fieri

This lucky fuck just has the greatest life

 

[Snowfist]

Its great. It only helps promote the brand. And keep in mind 23 people going in 250k each on a 4 billion dollar deal would give them roughly 7% share. Literally nothing if you are worried these celebrities are going to somehow "run" the operation.

What...no they don't have 7% share. They have just over 1% share.

 

[markg171]

each celebrity was required to invest a minimum of $250,000 as part of their ownership stake

Well that's completely doable for a guy like Belfort. I'd be pretty pissed if I were Vitor knowing that they were not only seeking investments, but also that it was within an affordable range for someone like him who wants to invest.

 

[Kyler Ruxin]

Its great. It only helps promote the brand. And keep in mind 23 people going in 250k each on a 4 billion dollar deal would give them roughly 7% share. Literally nothing if you are worried these celebrities are going to somehow "run" the operation.

What...no they don't have 7% share. They have just over 1% share.

closer to .15%

 

[rad]

We like their capitol . But their money gives them no power over us

 

[MMAart]

It's only 5 million something dollars total.

This is a publicity stunt, nothing more.

The new UFC owners are using that Hollywood connection to create some buzz and hype to add more name value to the UFC brand...

My guess is that one of their main goals is to use this as a marketing ploy to lure in REAL INVESTORS with TOP DOLLARS, such as millionaires from other countries.

 

[BotchMan]

Does this mean Cam has to conduct UFC press conferences now too? Uh oh

 

[Fishmonger]

 

[One MMA Fan]

Its great. It only helps promote the brand. And keep in mind 23 people going in 250k each on a 4 billion dollar deal would give them roughly 7% share. Literally nothing if you are worried these celebrities are going to somehow "run" the operation.

What...no they don't have 7% share. They have just over 1% share.

I'm not saying I'm some math wizard but you guys are way way off, the fook. XD

closer to .15%

^ This .. them shoes selling skills come in handy from good old Al Bundy here.

0.14375 %

5.75 mill out of 4 bill

Not to mention maybe it's from 4.2 bill whatever.

250K to these people is like 25 bucks to a regular person or 25 cents to me. Means jack slack to them.

My favorite of all the celebs is Marky Mark because he used to beat the shit out of minorities like me.

You will never be a minority in my heart.

 

[Char Jawz]

What...no they don't have 7% share. They have just over 1% share.

Actually it's about a 0.12% share.
5.75 million of 4 billion. Barely over 1/1000th

 

[Deleted member 196663]

250k minimum just means no one paid less than 250k, not that everyone paid 250k.

 

[KOByFootStomp]

This can only help with UFC's promotion and marketing. I imagine the combined social media reach of all those celebrities is enormous. I could see them making facebook and twitter posts about upcoming events and it would reach way more people than any tv or radio commercial.

 

[One MMA Fan]

250k minimum just means no one paid less than 250k, not that everyone paid 250k.

Eh this to me is more like "hey we are your managers, agents, lawyers, financials advisers etc.. and we have a good deal for the future how much you wanna put in the minim is 250k" - but I'm sure they put up a lot more then that more like in the millions, they get some media attention, free tickets, you look hip cause you "own UFC and are into cage fighting" and who knows maybe in 10 years you get to see a bit of profit to.

Most of them don't care that much were a mill or two went as long as the advisers said it's safe enough to do it.