Ari Emanuel insists TKO Group Holdings is not for sale — and never will be.
Emanuel, who has been making the media rounds to promote his new book, Roll The Calls, was asked about TKO’s long-term future during a recent appearance on The Town.
When Matt Belloni asked Emanuel to name the ideal buyer for TKO, he simply responded, “TKO.”
Belloni suggested that the company would eventually be sold, but Emanuel quickly shot down the idea.
“No, it won’t. No. Never.”
The subject continued, with Paramount and Amazon among the potential buyers mentioned. Emanuel again made his position clear.
“No. No, not for sale. Never.”
Emanuel then offered a much more detailed explanation, pointing to the long-term value he sees in sports properties and the increased amount of time he expects consumers to spend on sports and entertainment.
“Why would it be? Here’s the great thing. In 2016, Egon Durban, Mark, myself, Patrick, we saw where sports was going and saw where the streamers were going. At the time, people thought that the value — [that] we were crazy to pay what we did when we bought IMG [or] crazy that we paid the two cheapest acquisitions of all time in the sports space.”
Emanuel also argued that developments in AI could ultimately give people more free time and, in turn, more opportunities to consume entertainment and attend sporting events.
“As my son Leo says to me, Thursday is baby Friday. With AI, probably Wednesday is going to be the baby Thursday. There’s going to be more free time than ever. If we grow at 3% GDP, we’re going to have more money than we’ve ever had with AI in my opinion, and I agree with that.”
He continued by describing sports as “the greatest reality show of all time” and touting TKO’s collection of sports properties as an increasingly valuable asset.
“Take all the bad things that could happen, you’re sitting in a situation that there’s going to be more time for people to consume entertainment or [be] social animals. Go out, go to sporting events, consume sports. Sports is the greatest reality show of all time. Owning sports assets — now people are trying to own teams — we own four leagues. It’s an incredible asset.”
Emanuel concluded by reiterating that he and Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban have no intention of selling.
“The value is going up and to the right. Egon Durban, myself — there’s no chance that that’s happening. Zero.”
