Ex-WWE boss Vince McMahon sells $250M worth of TKO – Business News
Vince McMahon, the longtime face of skilled wrestling and former WWE CEO, has offered a sizable chunk of his remaining shares in TKO Group Holdings to Endeavor Group Holdings, marking one other step away from the empire he helped construct.
Endeavor — now working because the privately held WME Group — bought roughly 1.579 million shares of TKO’s Class A common stock instantly from McMahon in a non-public transaction, in response to a regulatory submitting with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.
The deal, valued at $250 million, was struck at a price of $158.32 per share and closed on Wednesday, in response to the submitting.
WWE co-founder Vince McMahon offered off a giant chunk of stock in TKO Group Holdings, in response to regulatory filings. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
McMahon’s public and financial ties to WWE and TKO have steadily diminished since a wave of controversy engulfed him in early 2024.
He stepped down from the TKO board of administrators in January after being accused of sexual assault and intercourse trafficking by a former WWE worker in a civil lawsuit. McMahon has “categorically denied” the allegations.
Janel Grant, a former WWE worker, says she was compelled by her then-boss into non-consensual encounters with him and others on the company.
Last week, one of McMahon’s co-defendants, John Laurinaitis, reached a confidential settlement with Grant that stipulates he’ll cooperate along with her attorneys and probably testify in opposition to the wrestling mogul.
An legal professional for McMahon stated that the settlement between Laurinaitis and Grant “doesn’t alter the facts of this case in any way” and that the mogul “never mistreated” her.
The transaction bolsters Endeavor’s place because the dominant stakeholder in TKO Group, which was created in 2023 by the merger of WWE and UFC.
McMahon’s ties to WWE and TKO have steadily diminished since a wave of controversy engulfed him in early 2024. Getty Images
Following the newest stock acquisition, Endeavor now controls 61.7% of TKO’s excellent shares.
This sale represents the newest transfer by McMahon to cut back his financial and strategic involvement within the fight sports activities and leisure company.
As of April 15, McMahon nonetheless held roughly 8 million shares, giving him a 9.8% financial stake and 4.1% of the company’s voting energy, per TKO’s most up-to-date annual report.
Ari Emanuel (proper), CEO of TKO and Endeavor, is seen alongside TKO COO and President Mark Shapiro. Zuffa LLC
The newest divestment brings his whole TKO stock gross sales to over $2 billion, together with a $311.2 million sale in April 2024 that concerned shares bought by each TKO and Endeavor.
The newest sale additionally coincides with broader modifications at Endeavor.
Earlier this yr, the company was taken non-public in a $25 billion deal led by non-public equity firm Silver Lake, which had long been a main backer of Endeavor and its CEO, Ari Emanuel.
The privatization effort was considered as a technique to restructure Endeavor’s sprawling holdings — which embrace expertise company WME, sports activities properties like UFC and PBR and the merged TKO entity — away from the pressures of public markets.
Janel Grant is a former worker of WWE.
McMahon, who turned WWE into a international juggernaut over 4 many years, relinquished full operational control when the company merged with UFC underneath Endeavor’s management final yr.
Despite holding a seat on the new company’s board, his function rapidly got here underneath scrutiny resulting from mounting legal challenges and shifting company priorities.
His departure from the board, coupled along with his current gross sales, alerts a deeper retreat from the wrestling world that after revolved round his persona.
Representatives for TKO Group and WME Group declined to touch upon the transaction past what was disclosed within the SEC submitting.
McMahon has not issued a public assertion relating to the stock sale.
