Here’s Vince McMahon’s Reported Asking Price In Potential WWE Sale

Vince McMahon assumed control of WWE to help prepare the company for a potential sale and maximize value for shareholders.

The company officially isn’t on the market, but there reportedly are multiple potential buyers. WWE has a $6.5 billion market cap, according to Bloomberg, but McMahon reportedly wants a significantly higher price for his company.

McMahon is looking to get as much as $9 billion from a potential sale, people familiar with the 77-year-old’s thinking told Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw. The company already has received offers, according to these individuals, but WWE has declined to comment on a sale.

This reported asking price is 37% greater than the company’s market cap. WWE stock has risen 30% this year, in part due to takeover speculation, according to Shaw.

“The list of potential buyers for the WWE includes Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., the owner of Ultimate Fighting Championship, as well as investors from the Middle East who have already made major investments in golf and soccer,” Shaw wrote Friday. “Endeavor would need financial help from a third party since its market capitalization of $10.4 billion is only a bit more than what McMahon wants, but the company has already shown it can integrate and grow a sports-media business with a divisive founder in the UFC.”

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McMahon owns 38% of shares in WWE, but his class B shares grant him 81% of voting power, as of March 2022, per Wrestlenomics. This means any potential sale would have to be approved by McMahon.

The controlling shareholder reinserted himself as executive chairman last month along with two former WWE presidents, Michelle Wilson and George Barrios. McMahon resigned last year following revelations he had paid millions of dollars to settle sexual misconduct claims. His daughter Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan assumed the roles of co-CEO, but the former stepped down soon after her father returned to the company.

Vince McMahon also settled a lawsuit with Rita Chatterton, who was the first female referee in WWE history and accused the executive chairman of sexual assault in 1986.

This has not seemed to deter the potential of a sale from outsiders, but the asking price might. For reference, the Denver Broncos sold for nearly $5 billion, and Dan Snyder reportedly is holding out for a $7 billion bid for the Washington Commanders.

But Comcast or FOX could step in and outright buy the company amid their television rights renegotiations with WWE.