There has been renewed talk about a potential WWE sale in light of Vince McMahon’s recent retirement.
The recent sexual misconduct allegations against McMahon have caused a plethora of massive changes within WWE. With McMahon stepping down as CEO, his daughter Stephanie McMahon and WWE President Nick Khan have assumed the roles as co-CEOs.
McMahon’s retirement also saw Triple H ascend to be the new head of WWE Creative.
With Vince McMahon stepping aside, that leaves the door open for an even bigger change to take place, including an outright sale of the company.
There has been a longstanding belief that Vince McMahon was the “magic ingredient” keeping WWE in such good financial shape. Fears that WWE would be in trouble once Vince stepped aside have proven to be untrue, at least in the short term.
Impact on WWE Stock
Following the news of McMahon’s retirement, WWE stock has actually increased. Investment firm Loop Capital upgraded its outlook of the company.
The recent growth growth of WWE’s stock price is largely due to the perception that there is now a greater chance that WWE is sold over the next few years.
WWE President Nick Khan has in the past been adamant that the WWE is more than willing to entertain offers for a sale. Earlier this year, he reiterated, “We’re open for business.”
With WWE’s U.S. TV rights renewal coming up in approximately mid-2023, a potential acquirer might think it more opportune to buy the company rather than strike a temporary rights deal.
Currently FOX owns the broadcasting rights to SmackDown, while Monday Night RAW is hosted by NBCUniversal. Both deals will be up at the end of 2024.
As for potential buyers, there are several companies that make sense. Some being Comcast, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount Global, Apple, Amazon and Netflix. Warner Bros Discovery in particular would make for a very interesting situation, as they currently air All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on TNT and TBS.
Attempting a WWE purchase would be a smart business move on anybody’s part given the growth WWE has seen in the past several years. Over the past decade WWE has consistently grown annual revenue.
Monday it was announced that second-quarter revenue is currently expected at about $328 million for the quarter. That’s a 23% increase from last year. Also, WWE has an operating income of about $70 million, which is a 52% increase.
In regards to a potential WWE sale, only time will tell given how fresh the recent changes have been.