WWE Reportedly Close To Finalizing Sale To Endeavor

As WWE prepares to kick off the second night of WrestleMania 39, word has come out that the company is in "advanced talks" to be sold to Endeavor Group, which also owns Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The news was broken on Sunday afternoon by CNBC.

Talk of the imminent sale of WWE has been a major news item since Vince McMahon returned to the WWE Board of Directors in January, reportedly to help facilitate such a sale. While the numbers involved are not yet public information, it was reported in February that McMahon had set the target price at $9 billion.

A deal could be announced as soon as Monday, according to sources close to the situation. Furthermore, if the deal does go ahead as is being reported, it's believed that WWE and UFC will become part of the same publicly traded company. Endeavor will own 51 percent of the proposed company, while WWE shareholders will retain 49 percent of the share. Endeavor's Ari Emanuel is expected to represent Endeavor and the new entity as the chief executive, and McMahon will work as an executive chairman for the company. Meanwhile, Nick Khan — who was appointed as WWE's singular CEO after Stephanie McMahon resigned from her co-CEO position earlier this year — will become president of the new company's wrestling branch.

While it remains to be seen if the deal is official, the latest news lines up with the reports that WWE officials were expected to meet with prospective buyers in April and that sales talks were progressing as recently as Saturday.