WWE Reportedly Sold To Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund
Update 1/11/23: WWE has yet to confirm or deny a reported sale. On Wednesday morning, several sources came forward to dispute the claim.
Rumors have been flying that WWE has been sold to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, or at least that such a sale could be imminent.
The story was first reported by Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net, who tweeted last night, "For what it's worth, I'm told the Saudi deal is done and they're taking the company private." Shortly thereafter, Steven Muehlhausen of DAZN tweeted out the same news, claiming that 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." This tweet has since been deleted.
Haynes followed up later in the evening, saying, "The deal isn't completely finalized because WWE must provide notice to shareholders & other parties. There are legalities to go through, as the company is publicly traded. But, again, I'm told a deal has been agreed to in principle. Muehlhausen then quote-tweeted Haynes' updated, saying he had "heard the same thing." As of this writing, that tweet remains up.
The reports came 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.