WWE is looking at potentially selling the company by the middle of this year.
WWE announced it hired Raine Group as its lead financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis as its legal advisor while exploring the sale of the company ahead of negotiations for its TV rights that expire in 2024. They also hired JPMorgan.
Barron’s reported that Tony and Shad Khan were “in the pool of” potential WWE buyers. CNBC reported that AEW is interested in merging with WWE. Sources told the media outlet that AEW and WWE could partner with a strategic media company to share the intellectual property while merging the wrestling leagues.
Jim Cornette gave his thoughts on various topics on his Jim Cornette Experience including this possibility.
“Okay, in all honesty, and I think we mentioned this when we did the breaking news on Vince first coming back. Yes, Shahid Khan was willing to give his son his inheritance early so he could see him enjoy spending it. And shad has other children doesn’t he? But I don’t know if even he is prepared to say, ‘Okay, let’s get into a $6 billion deal. Tony, you’ve been doing so well with what you got.’”
“Because who knows what the bottom line of AEW is, because I know a lot of people like to talk about, oh, they’ve done a million dollar gate here and there and everywhere and the TV rights fees. But as we’ve mentioned, also, besides the fact that they’ve spent, by their own admission, 10s of millions of dollars on a video game that will be out shortly in stores near you, the 100 and something wrestlers under contract, and the amount of money that they spend on their production of not only the Dynamite but also Rampage and the YouTube shows aren’t free just because we scoff at them.”
“They’ve spent an incredible amount of money, they’ve taken in an incredible amount of money and who knows what’s what. But that doesn’t mean number one that Shahid Khan is gonna say ‘Okay, I’m ready to pony up $6 billion all at the same time.’ And then what would they do with it?”
“Because again, this is so far above, and this is not even a knock on him, it’s far above me and I’ve worked there longer than he has which would be at all so far above Tony’s level of expertise, comfort or competence to run a company of that size. And yes, I know all the employees would come over, but he’s still got to tell him what to do and decide which ones to listen to and which ones not. And they wouldn’t sell it to him, because again, if you’re, whether it’s the WWE or whether it’s Sony Pictures or whatever major entertainment entity.”
“Yeah, you might want Warner Brother Discovery to buy it, or Disney to buy it, or NBC Universal to buy it or whatever. But just because some f*cking clown won the lottery and had $6 billion. Would you say okay, well he’s outbid Warner Brothers Discovery or NBCUniversal by about $200 million? So we’re gonna sell it to the f*cking guy that’s gonna bring $6 billion in a shoe box? And them good luck to him after that we don’t give a sh*t. No, this would be so far above and over all of their heads on how to run a company like that.”
“The employees at not only at the highest level, but also fairly well down to the middle of the company would be more experienced, more well versed and more organised in running a business than what the owner would be at that point. One thing we can’t say about Vince is that he doesn’t know how everything works in that company. Who does everything, and who’s responsible for everything?”
“And the f*cking, you know, the wrestling fans get mad because his booking went insane or just becoming stuff to please himself over the last however long. But has anybody ever said Vince McMahon’s an idiot when it comes to business? So no, it’s ridiculous. It’s just fucking ridiculous to think that that would happen or that they would even probably let it happen.”
Quotes via Inside The Ropes
