WWE at crossroads as Vince McMahons retirement and scandals heighten sale speculation
Summary
World Wrestling Entertainments annual report for 2021 lists a risk factor specifically about the consequences of Vince McMahons retirement — an event that happened last week. Newly appointed co-CEO Nick Khan openly discussed the concept of selling already this year, months before McMahon stepped down amid a Wall Street Journal investigation that revealed payouts to women who claimed sexual misconduct and infidelity. WWE is also attractive as an acquisition because a media owner can sell real-time advertising on live programming and potentially keep audiences paying for traditional pay-TV, a diminishing but lucrative revenue stream. Comcast, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount Global, Apple, Amazon and Netflix all make sense an acquirer, given their streaming ambitions, MKM Partners analyst Eric Handler wrote in a note to clients. "We suspect the Street will interpret Mr. McMahons retirement as a precursor to an eventual sale of WWE," Citi analyst Jason Bazinet said in a note to clients.