If, like most people, you haven’t been paying close attention to the up and down fortunes of Endeavor, WME and Ari Emanuel’s ambitions to become a corporate titan, let us boil it down for you: Endeavor is back to being a private talent agency.
Also, it’s back to being called WME … WME Group, which will be led by Mark Shapiro, Emanuel’s top lieutenant.
The financial fancy footwork here would confuse anyone after a decade-plus of deals, mergers, splits and sales. But after buying a dizzying array of man-to-manly sports assets (UFC, WWE, bull-riding) in an effort to create a 21st century entertainment brand named Endeavor, Emanuel ultimately could not sell this idea to the financial world.