UFC CEO DANA WHITE JOINS MARK ZUCKERBERG'S META BOARD OF DIRECTORS

UFC CEO Dana White is now in business with Mark Zuckerberg.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook Inc., announced Monday the UFC CEO has joined the company’s board of directors along with John Elkann, CEO of Exor; and Charlie Songhurst, former General Manager and Head of Global Corporate Strategy at Microsoft.

“Dana, John and Charlie will add a depth of expertise and perspective that will help us tackle the massive opportunities ahead with AI, wearables and the future of human connection,” Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Meta, said in a news release.

White, who’s mainly known for his work with the UFC, which spans over two decades, showed eagerness for the new venture.

“I’ve never been interested in joining a board of directors until I got the offer to join Meta’s board,” White said. “I am a huge believer that social media and AI are the future. I am very excited to join this incredible team and to learn more about this business from the inside. There is nothing I love more than building brands, and I look forward to helping take Meta to the next level.”

The announcement may not come entirely out of left field. Zuckerberg is a public fan and supporter of the UFC, and in recent years has been attending events, and seen hanging out with fighters and White himself. He even was one of the cornermen for Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. In addition, the UFC also used to stream its preliminary card fights on Facebook Live.

- Danny Segura

EXOR SAYS IT HAS NOT BEEN APPROACHED BY FUNDS OVER POSSIBLE JUVENTUS SALE

Chairman and CEO of Exor and Chairman of Fiat Chrisler Automobiles John Elkann. Reuters 

Exor (EXOR.AS), the investment company controlled by Italy's Agnelli family, has not received any approach from funds over a possible sale of Serie A soccer club Juventus (JUVE.MI), its Chief Executive John Elkann said on Thursday.

Asked by reporters whether any funds, including Arab or American, had approached Exor, which controls the soccer club, over a possible transaction, Elkann replied: "no".

"Nor have we approached funds, it's not a scenario we're interested in," Elkann said at a news conference before Exor's investor day.

He added that Exor was not considering delisting Juventus.

JUVENTUS SHARES RISE DESPITE PARENT EXOR DENYING SALE PLAN

Reuters 

Shares in Juventus (JUVE.MI) rose as much as 4.8% on Monday on takeover speculation, despite parent company Exor (EXOR.AS) saying it had no plans to put the soccer club up for sale, denying a report in newspaper Il Giornale.

Shares in Italy's most successful Serie A club were up 3.2% at 1310 GMT, with trading volumes far exceeding their 90-day average. The was stock outperforming a 0.9% rise on the Milan bourse (.FTITLMS) as a whole.

A spokesperson for Exor said in a statement that Il Giornale's report was "groundless", after the newspaper said the holding company considered Juventus's recent financial results were "no longer sustainable" and it had been embarrassed by the soccer club's ongoing judicial problems.

Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli family, owns around 64% of the shares and 78% of the voting rights at Juventus.