Huge WWE takeover update as ‘Battle Royal’ starts to buy Vince McMahon’s $9 BILLION company as F1 owners ‘seek purchase’
A FRESH update on the WWE takeover deal has claimed that a $9 BILLION “Battle Royal” has begun to buy the wrestling company.
Billionaire Vince McMahon is ready to sell the company after a turbulent few months.
GettyVince McMahon is believed to be overseeing the huge sale of WWE as interest hots up[/caption]
The 77-year-old initially retired as chairman, CEO and head of creative in July but remained majority shareholder.
The American businessman stepped down after accusations of sexual misconduct and reports he allegedly paid several women millions in hush money between 2006 and 2022.
But McMahon was unanimously voted back in by the board of directors and returned as executive chairman with reports suggesting he will oversee the sale of the company.
There have been rumours suggesting WWE could be sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which also owns Premier League giants Newcastle, with claims McMahon is asking for around £7.47BN to sell.
But speculation has also suggested that there are other potential buyers, such as Comcast, Fox, Disney, Warner Bros, Discovery, Netflix, Amazon, UFC owner Endeavor Group Holdings and Formula One owner Liberty Media.
Now journalist David Faber has provided an update on the potential takeover and claimed the battle to buy it is turning into a Battle Royal.
He said: “Lot of people had doubts about it for any number of reasons, including of course whether or not Vince McMahon — who still owns 37 per cent of the company and in many ways controls it — would ever really sell.
“From what I’m hearing from people familiar with the situation, it’s shaping up to be a pretty good sales process.
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“Some people saying pretty hot and heavy. And those who were doubtful you’d get to a sale at the end seem less so.”
He added that it is still “unclear” whether “something gets done here” before he was quizzed about the potential suitors.
He says “we can all take our various guesses” before running through some of the top options.
He claimed that Endeavor are investigating a reverse Morris trust that would enable them to spin off UFC into a new company they would then merge with WWE.
As well as plenty of “private equity interest” that could lead to partnership with “well known names in the sport”, the Saudi PIF are still in the chase for the company.
And that Formula One owner Liberty Media are also.
And he added that the takeover deal “is expected to conclude in the not too distant future” – which is the same thing as WWE CEO Nick Khan told him last month.
