Endeavor Quietly Invested in Elon Musk’s Twitter Earlier This Year
Endeavor, the owner of WME and UFC, invested in Twitter earlier this year, a source familiar with the matter confirms to The Hollywood Reporter.
The investment would be one of the first since Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired the company late last year. After acquiring Twitter for $44 billion, his family office is said to have sought other potential investors willing to buy in at the same share price that Musk paid. It is not clear how much Endeavor invested, or the price per share it paid, however the source said the investment was not material to Endeavor’s business.
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Musk knows Endeavor well, having served on its board of directors following its IPO in 2021.
Musk resigned from Endeavor’s board last year to focus on his other businesses, which in addition to Tesla and Twitter also include SpaceX, The Boring Company and Neuralink.
Musk is also friends with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel (a photo of Emanuel hosing Musk down aboard a yacht off the coast of Greece made the rounds last summer), and the mega-agent is said to have pushed for a settlement between Musk and Twitter’s board of directors when the two parties were feuding over the deal.
Twitter under Musk has been unpredictable, with stability issues and brand-safety concerns a recurring theme. However, the service remains up and running, and there is still no other platform quite like it.
Indeed, while Twitter’s advertising business is believed to have suffered since Musk’s deal closed, media companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery continue to advertise on the platform, and celebrities and public officials continue to use it on a daily basis.
While Musk owns Twitter outright, there are other outside investors. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey retained his $1 billion stake in the company after Musk’s deal closed, and other investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, also rolled over their stakes.
Axios first reported Endeavor’s investment in Twitter.
