WWE sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
WWE has reportedly been sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
According to Steven Muehlhausen of DAZN, WWE “will go back to being private” for the first time since it became a publicly traded company in October 1999. Muehlhausen further tweeted it’s “unknown if Vince McMahon will return to head of creative but it is expected by some people.
WWE Reportedly Sold To Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund
WWE
BY SAI MOHAN/UPDATED: JAN. 11, 2023 12:28 AM EST
WWE has reportedly been sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
According to Steven Muehlhausen of DAZN, WWE “will go back to being private” for the first time since it became a publicly traded company in October 1999. Muehlhausen further tweeted it’s “unknown if Vince McMahon will return to head of creative but it is expected by some people.”
The report comes hours after Stephanie McMahon announced her resignation as Chairwoman & Co-Ceo, following which a WWE press release confirmed that Vince McMahon had been unanimously elected as the Executive Chairman of the Board.
The talk of a potential WWE sale picked up steam last Friday after the formerly retired McMahon — the controlling shareholder of WWE — reinstated himself to WWE’s Board of Directors and announced that the company was preparing to undertake “strategic alternatives” with the goal to “to maximize value for all WWE shareholders.” The statement was widely interpreted as McMahon’s intention to sell the WWE.
Subsequently, WWE hired J.P. Morgan to advise the company on a potential sale, with financial analysts earmarking Comcast, Disney, Endeavor Group Holdings, Amazon and Netflix as potential suitors to purchase the world’s biggest wrestling promotion. While there was chatter about Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund entering the fray as a bidder, the latest betting odds released Tuesday predicted Comcast as the leading suitor to pull off a sale of WWE.
WWE has yet to confirm or deny DAZN’s report of its sale to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.