A report from Front Office Sports suggests that Saudi Arabia’s PIF could make a bid for the sports entertainment group.
The WWE, which is valued at around $6.3bn, already has a presence in Saudi Arabia through an existing 10-year contract that sees the superstars of WWE perform two live events in Saudi Arabia each year. The current contract is worth $1bn in total, or $50M per event.
The man behind WWE as know it, Vince McMahon, returned to the board of WWE last week and will once again assume executive control of the entertainment business. On his return to the WWE board McMahon said: “WWE is entering a critical juncture in its history with the upcoming media rights negotiations coinciding with increased industry-wide demand for quality content and live events and with more companies seeking to own the intellectual property on their platforms. The only way for WWE to fully capitalise on this opportunity is for me to return as Executive Chairman and support the management team in the negotiations for our media rights and to combine that with a review of strategic alternatives. My return will allow WWE, as well as any transaction counterparties, to engage in these processes knowing they will have the support of the controlling shareholder.”
