Vince McMahon has never been afraid to think big when it comes to the WWE.
Now that the company’s majority owner is looking to sell the wrestling and entertainment giant, he’s reportedly seeking a huge price: $9 billion.
Bloomberg.com reported Friday that’s McMahon’s asking price, and he’s already received offers for the business.
Among the likely bidders is Endeavor Group Holdings, which owns the UFC.
McMahon, 77, bought the company from his father in 1982 and turned it into a juggernaut. He stepped down from his role as CEO and chairman last summer after revelations that he had paid millions in hush money to women who had made sexual misconduct allegations against him.
But in January, he returned as executive chairman of WWE and announced his intention to sell the company. At that time, a report even surfaced that an agreement had been reached to sell WWE to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE) is valued at approximately $6.5 billion. To put that figure in perspective, the Denver Broncos were recently sold for $4.65 billion, a record for a North American sports franchise.
There’s no question, however, the WWE is hugely profitable. The company reported $1.29 billion in sales last year, and is currently negotiating a lucrative new TV rights package.
Twitter seemed to disagree on McMahon’s sales price.
Vince is only worth $2 billion roughly, and he’s owned WWE for how long? Why would someone who could afford to spend $9 billion ever expect to recoup their cost if the person who held it this long never came close?
— Bryan K (@ProtagonistZero) February 17, 2023
The company’s market cap is around $6.5B. $9B is a premium, but it’s not a completely unreasonable one if there are enough serious bidders.
— Darren Caslick (@DarrenCaslick) February 17, 2023
The Dallas Cowboys are the richest team in America, worth an estimated $8 billion…..vince wants what now 🙂 🙂
— todd smith (@cooltkll) February 17, 2023
