Vince McMahon, the longtime face {of professional} wrestling and former WWE CEO, has offered a large chunk of his remaining shares in TKO Group Holdings to Endeavor Group Holdings, marking one other step away from the empire he helped construct.
Endeavor — now working because the privately held WME Group — bought roughly 1.579 million shares of TKO’s Class A typical inventory immediately from McMahon in a personal transaction, in line with a regulatory submitting with the Securities and Change Fee on Wednesday.
The deal, valued at $250 million, was struck at a value of $158.32 per share and closed on Wednesday, in line with the submitting.
McMahon’s public and monetary ties to WWE and TKO have steadily diminished since a wave of controversy engulfed him in early 2024.
He stepped down from the TKO board of administrators in January after being accused of sexual assault and intercourse trafficking by a former WWE worker in a civil lawsuit. McMahon has “categorically denied” the allegations.
Janel Grant, a former WWE worker, says she was compelled by her then-boss into non-consensual encounters with him and others on the firm.
Final week, considered one of McMahon’s co-defendants, John Laurinaitis, reached a confidential settlement with Grant that stipulates he’ll cooperate along with her attorneys and probably testify towards the wrestling mogul.
An lawyer for McMahon mentioned that the settlement between Laurinaitis and Grant “doesn’t alter the facts of this case in any way” and that the mogul “never mistreated” her.
The transaction bolsters Endeavor’s place because the dominant stakeholder in TKO Group, which was created in 2023 by way of the merger of WWE and UFC.
Following the most recent inventory acquisition, Endeavor now controls 61.7% of TKO’s excellent shares.
This sale represents the most recent transfer by McMahon to cut back his monetary and strategic involvement within the fight sports activities and leisure firm.
As of April 15, McMahon nonetheless held roughly 8 million shares, giving him a 9.8% financial stake and 4.1% of the corporate’s voting energy, per TKO’s most up-to-date annual report.
The newest divestment brings his complete TKO inventory gross sales to over $2 billion, together with a $311.2 million sale in April 2024 that concerned shares bought by each TKO and Endeavor.
The newest sale additionally coincides with broader modifications at Endeavor.
Earlier this yr, the corporate was taken non-public in a $25 billion deal led by non-public fairness agency Silver Lake, which had lengthy been a significant backer of Endeavor and its CEO, Ari Emanuel.
The privatization effort was considered as a approach to restructure Endeavor’s sprawling holdings — which embody expertise company WME, sports activities properties like UFC and PBR and the merged TKO entity — away from the pressures of public markets.
McMahon, who turned WWE into a worldwide juggernaut over 4 a long time, relinquished full operational management when the corporate merged with UFC below Endeavor’s management final yr.
Regardless of holding a seat on the brand new firm’s board, his function shortly got here below scrutiny as a consequence of mounting authorized challenges and shifting company priorities.
His departure from the board, coupled along with his latest gross sales, indicators a deeper retreat from the wrestling world that when revolved round his persona.
Representatives for TKO Group and WME Group declined to touch upon the transaction past what was disclosed within the SEC submitting.
McMahon has not issued a public assertion concerning the inventory sale.
