Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has reportedly bought wrestling giant WWE.
This comes barely 24 hours after 46-year-old Stephanie McMahon resigned as chief executive of the company.
Recall that her father Vince McMahon is the biggest shareholder in the company after purchasing the shares from his father Vincent J. McMahon 40 years ago.
Vince retired last year but has now returned to the board as a position of executive chair and is leading a process of ‘strategic alternatives’. However, it is now being reported that the company has been sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and will move into being a private company.
The investment fund is controlled by Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman and is amongst the wealthiest in the world. They have taken a keen interest in sport funding LIV Golf and buying Newcastle United last year.
If the sale is confirmed WWE would return to being private for the first time since it became a publicly traded company in 1999.
Currently, Vince McMahon remains the biggest shareholder in WWE and can ‘effectively exercise control over affairs’. After his retirement last year McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie and Nick Khan took over as co-CEOs with son-in-law Paul Levesque [wrestling name Triple H] taking over day-to-day duties as a chief content officer.