The consortium, led by Mural Ventures and backed by Bangkok and New York-based private equity group Ally Global Management, has purchased a significant minority stake in Spain’s premier mixed martial arts league, Way of Warriors FC. The MMA championship company was founded in 2019 and has produced over 20 events to date with the latest WoW 12 being Spain's largest attended MMA event in history with over 6,000 attendees.
WoW operates across events and promotion, content and media, licensing and merchandising, as well as talent management. The partnership aims to position it as one of the world’s leading mixed martial arts companies, with expansions planned across Latin America and targeted at the rapidly growing Spanish-speaking communities around the world.
“The global growth of MMA and its fighters has opened up new opportunities for local leagues in key growth markets. WoW is one of the most rapidly growing MMA promoters worldwide with an incredible team and with the strategic support of ALLY and Mural we expect it to become one of the predominant players in Europe and Latam,” said Alejandro Uribe, co-founder of Mural Ventures.
This investment underpins ALLY’s media strategy of backing leading IP-led entertainment and sports companies globally. “WoW is capitalising on the growing global interest in Mixed Martial Arts, by being the definitive league in Spain and for Spanish-speaking territories. With strong management and experienced personnel in place, WoW will quickly establish itself as a leader in the sport,” said Sean Thongchan, partner at Ally Global Management.
Ally Global Management, better known for setting up Thailand’s first real estate private equity fund as well as Thailand’s largest independent REIT, has recently acquired stakes in leading media and sports assets globally, including Asian media collective 88rising and gaming company Ampverse. “We are excited to partner up with dynamic and experienced operators globally such as Mural. It is an incredible platform with strategic focus into new markets such as Spain and Latin America, where we see many synergies and cultural similarities to Asia,” said Kris Eiamsakulrat, co-founder of Ally Global Management.
Mural Ventures is an investment and advisory firm co-founded by Alejandro Uribe and Tere Perez. Previously, Alejandro was co-founder and CEO of Exile Content Studio, before exiting to Blackstone-backed Candle Media. Tere Perez was COO of Grupo MYT, before the hospitality company was sold to LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton.