Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO of WWE, Inc., is a third-generation promoter who has made WWE into the global phenomenon it is today. He is in the process of selling a significant chunk of his ownership in TKO Group and even transferring some of those assets to board members Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro. The 8.4 million shares McMahon proposes to sell are worth almost $700 million. This change followed Endeavor Group’s acquisition of a majority stake in TKO, which was formed when WWE and UFC merged.
The transaction might signal McMahon’s possible exit from the wrestling industry. Since the WWE-UFC merger, McMahon has been less engaged in WWE’s creative process, implying that the new business may not envision a significant role for him given that TKO is mostly controlled by Endeavor.
Is Vince McMahon selling his TKO stocks?
Vince McMahon serves as executive chairman of TKO, the company formed two months ago when WWE and UFC merged. UFC was estimated at $12.1 billion while WWE was valued at $9.3 billion in the agreement. According to Brandon Thurston, McMahon is selling around 30% of his investment, for about $700 million.
Less than two months after stating that all of McMahon’s 28.84 million shares of Class A stock were available for sale, TKO named McMahon as a possible liability in an SEC filing on Tuesday. Given his contentious position and recent legal troubles, including a subpoena and a search warrant from the Federal Grand Jury, speculation developed that the firm was contemplating replacing McMahon.
After momentarily resigning last year during a WWE inquiry regarding money usage, McMahon returned for the WWE-UFC merger. It seems, however, that he has relinquished his creative duties at WWE in favor of WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque, who is backed by Endeavor.
Who is going to be the potential buyer of sold TKO stocks?
New media rights agreements with NBCUniversal and the CW, as well as forthcoming foreign events in Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Australia, were highlighted in the company’s first quarterly profits report, which was released earlier this week. McMahon is the one selling his shares, not TKO, and CEO Ariel Emanuel, President Mark Shapiro, and other directors have all bought into the sale. There is no public offering of TKO stock.
Endeavor’s CEO Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro planned to acquire $1 million and $850,000 in shares, respectively, while TKO intends to purchase $100 million. The remaining $598 million in equity is scheduled for a public offering. To buy TKO’s Class A common stock at the public offering price, Ariel Emanuel, who is the company’s CEO and director, Mark Shapiro, who is the company’s president, and some other TKO directors bought 12,531 shares, 12,531 shares, and 10,650 shares, respectively.
No one knows what McMahon has planned, but WWE fans are optimistic since Triple H is running the show right now. Share your view regarding McMahon’s share-selling move in the comments.
