Vince McMahon is selling 8.4 million shares of his ownership in TKO Group Holdings, which amounts to approximately $700 million in value, but this move does not affect the business decisions made at TKO because Endeavor already owns 51% of the company.
Vince McMahon, 78, the executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, is planning to sell 8.4 million shares of his stock in the combined company that merged the UFC and WWE together, amounting to approximately $700 million in value. This represents around 25 percent of McMahon’s total stock in TKO. As a result of McMahon’s sale, Endeavor — the powerhouse agency that purchased the UFC and WWE before spinning it off to a new company — will buy back $100 million in the stock made available. TKO CEO Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro, TKO president and Endeavor chief operating officer, will also buy back stock.
McMahon’s sale does not affect any of the business decisions made at TKO Group Holdings, as Endeavor already owns 51 percent of the company, giving them a controlling interest. Despite this, McMahon’s significant sale may indicate a potential exit from WWE and his role as executive chairman at TKO. However, nothing has been announced or decided regarding this matter.
This move comes after McMahon retired and then returned to the company he helped build. Despite his brief exit during a sexual misconduct investigation, McMahon returned and remained a majority stockholder in WWE before striking the deal to sell to Endeavor, which subsequently merged the pro-wrestling outfit with the UFC. Following this merger, TKO was initially valued at over $21 billion. However, TKO stock was down five percent as of closing on Thursday, trading at $84.90 at the final bell.