- Stephanie McMahon has resigned as co-CEO and chairwoman of WWE.
- Her father forced to resign as CEO after numerous claims of sexual misconduct.
- Shahid and Tony Khan are also interested in buying the company.
Vince McMahon has formally rejoined WWE and is prepared to make an attempt to sell the company after resigning as CEO of WWE in the wake of numerous claims of sexual misconduct.
The announcement of Stephanie’s resignation marked her second departure from the company in the preceding eight months. Stephanie is also the co-CEO and chairwoman of WWE.
Only a few weeks after taking a leave of absence in the middle of 2022, she was asked to return to the company and take over the reins after learning that her 77-year-old father was the subject of several charges and rumours of hush money payments.
He was forced to resign as chairman, CEO, and head of creative after it was discovered that $US19.6 million had been given to at least four former female WWE employees in exchange for them signing non-disclosure agreements that forbade them from discussing their relationship with McMahon and any allegations of sexual misconduct.
That left Nick Khan in control, a former agent who joined WWE in the middle of 2020 and quickly rose through the ranks to co-CEO, as well as McMahon’s daughter.
McMahon returned to WWE just a few days ago, stating he was in the greatest position to “maximize value for all WWE stockholders” since he had been given “poor advice” to retire.
McMahon was reinstated as executive chairman of WWE a few days later.
Three board members were fired upon McMahon’s return, and two more announced their resignations.
McMahon is angling for a sale now that WWE has revealed it has hired three firms to assist with the sale—The Raine Group LLC, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and August LLP.
While various media outlets reported that an agreement had been signed between WWE and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns both Premier League team Newcastle United and LIV Golf, this is not the case.
It is believed that the Saudis are among the parties interested in the aforementioned endeavor. Comcast/NBC Universal, which owns the WWE Network and airs Raw on the USA Network in the United States, is a strong candidate. On its Peacock streaming service, it also streams pay-per-view events.
There is speculation that Shahid and Tony Khan are also intrigued. All Elite Wrestling (AEW), WWE’s main opponent, is led by Tony, and the two firms may merge, according to sources.
However, if McMahon has any say in the eventual outcome of the sale, this becomes exceedingly improbable. Nothing would irritate McMahon more than having his company purchased by a competing wrestling organization.
Stephanie McMahon, who is currently in charge of creative, and her husband Paul “Triple H” Levesque reportedly opposed a sale.
McMahon should be able to return to his previous positions, including head of creative, if WWE is acquired and taken private after its 1999 public listing on the stock market, which turned it into a billion-dollar property, despite his numerous scandals and the general consensus among analysts that the quality of the product declined in the last years of his leadership.
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