There’s reportedly plenty of interest in a potential WWE sale.
During the March 28 episode of CBNBC’s Squawk on the Street, David Faber reported what he has heard about a potential sale.
What I’m hearing, at least from people familiar with the situation, is it’s shaping up to be a pretty good sale process. Some people said pretty hot and heavy. Those who even were somewhat doubtful they could get to a sale at the end seemed less so. Does that mean that something gets done here? Listen, unclear. Who’s participating? We can all take out various guesses. Obviously as I reported previously, there’s interest for Endeavor, for example, in pursuing what would be a complex translation in terms of a reverse Morris trust where they would spin off UFC into a new company and control that company, which would be merged with WWE. Sure, they’d like to explore that concept. Is there private equity interest in the part of some? Yes. Perhaps in partnership with well-known names in the sport, that’s a possibility.
“Does Liberty have an interest in taking a look? Sure. The Saudis moved heavily into golf as we know, took a look at Formula 1. So would the [Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund] have interest? Yes, that’s a possibility. There may be others, but something has led at least to a number of people lose to this to indicate to me that it is not just live, but it’s going quite well. It is expected to, we’ll see, conclude in the not too distant future. A key here though remains McMahon’s real willingness to sell”. It’s a topic that I brought up with the company CEO [Nick Khan] not that long ago right here on the set.”
Faber also noted that, as far as he understands it, Comcast is not part of the sale process.
Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon retired on July 22, 2022, amid a WWE board investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and hush money. He returned to the company on January 6, and he was voted the Executive Chairman of the Board on January 10. WWE subsequently started working with several companies to support the review of strategic alternatives, as McMahon made it clear that he would be negotiating media rights deals and exploring a potential sale upon his return.
WWWE CEO Nick Khan previously stated that McMahon would be willing to step away from WWE for the right buyer.
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