Nick Khan Reacts to Saudi Arabia WWE Sale Reports

WWE

WWE CEO Nick Khan has reacted to previous reports that WWE had agreed to sell to Saudi Arabia.

Steven Muehlhausen of DAZN initially tweeted on January 10:

Sources: #WWE has been sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The company will go back to being private.

Unknown if Vince McMahon will return to head of creative but it is expected by some people.

However, a short time later, Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam reported the following, which Muehlhausen said he’d also heard:

The deal isn’t completely finalized because WWE must provide notice to shareholders & other parties.

There are legalities to go through, as the company is publicly traded.

But, again, I’m told a deal has been agreed to in principle.

On January 11, multiple outlets, including TMZ and Ariel Helwani, reported that a deal was not finalized.

During Wednesday’s (January 18) edition of the Bill Simmons Show, Nick Khan called the initial report ‘absurd’. Stating that news about a deal with Saudi Arabia was 100% false, Khan said:

“100% fake, 100% made up saying there was an imminent transaction. Totally false. It was absurd, it was nuts.

“That person subsequently took down that tweet because when I’m saying it was 100% false, it was 100% false.”

Discussing Vince McMahon’s involvement in the potential sale of WWE, Khan noted:

“In this process, he’s there to oversee it, it’s his controlling share, I’m involved in it, Triple H is in involved in it, the board is obviously involved in it. We’re going to see how it plays out. It should not be a lengthy process.”

Paul Levesque (Triple H) told WWE talent in a meeting before SmackDown on January 13 and before Raw on January 16 that nothing would change on the creative side of things and he would still be the person heading that up.

He did say he and McMahon “may have discussions”, but Levesque is the one making final decisions.

However, it’s worth remembering that WWE did hold a meeting with employees (not talent) a week earlier and the message was “business as usual” and that no management would be changing, and then Stephanie McMahon resigned just days later, so it seems even what’s being said in the meetings is a fluid situation and things may change.

On January 6, using his power as majority owner, Vince McMahon put himself and former WWE presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson back on the company’s Board of Directors, disposing of JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Jeffrey R Speed, and Alan M Wexler in the process.

McMahon had stated that his intention was to facilitate a sale of the company.

He changed bylaws to ensure that no sale or media rights deal could be completed without his approval.

Upon McMahon’s return, two further Board members resigned of their own volition, those being Man Jit Singh – who was the one heading up the Board’s investigation into McMahon – and Ignace Lahoud.

Stephanie McMahon then resigned from her role as co-CEO and Chairwoman and her position on the Board on January 10, as Vince McMahon was elected Executive Chairman.

On January 15, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported that Vince McMahon was back in his office and had been “suggesting changes” to different departments.

On January 17, WWE made a new SEC filing stating that, as of January 16, Vince McMahon no longer needs stockholders’ approval for his actions.

There has been much speculation that Vince McMahon was looking to sell to a party that would commit to keeping him in charge of the company despite the multiple sexual assault allegations that have surfaced in the past year that led to his initial ‘retirement’ in July.

You can keep up with all the latest news and updates on a potential WWE sale by clicking here.

Transcription via Fightful. 

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• Sale
• Nick Khan
• saudi arabia
• wwe

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