Vince McMahon Votes Himself Back Onto WWE’s Board Of Directors – Is A Sale Next?
Update: It’s official. Vince McMahon has used his considerable voting power to be re-elected to the WWE board of directors, along with allies and former co-presidents and directors Michelle Wilson and George Barrios. The changes were made official this morning, with three current board members relieved of their duties to make room. Complete details can be found in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing available here. It is worth noting that McMahon stayed in “retirement” for less than six months. The original story remains below.
Last year, Vince McMahon resigned from his executive and creative responsibilities at World Wrestling Entertainment amid an ongoing investigation into sexual misconduct. Since then, his daughter Stephanie McMahon has stepped up to be co-CEO of the company, alongside Nick Khan, while his son-in-law Paul “Triple H” Levesque has taken creative control over the company’s product. That could all change, however, as McMahon is reportedly planning a comeback.
According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, McMahon is looking to return to the company’s board of directors and bring allies on board with him in the form of former WWE co-presidents and directors Michelle Wilson and George Barrios. According to the WSJ, the move is to seek a sale of the company. Currently, McMahon has the majority of votes in the company due to the shares he owns.
As the WSJ explains, McMahon has notified the board that he intends to use his voting power to elect himself, Wilson and Barrios to the board. Previously, the board had rejected McMahon’s attempts to return. It’s also worth noting that the return of three means the three current directors will have to vacate their roles, though there’s no word on who that would be.
As for why this is happening now, WWE’s television rights deals with NBC Universal and Fox are set to expire soon, meaning the company will be looking to make big deals for its Raw, Smackdown and NXT. In a letter to the board, according to the WSJ, McMahon stated that his intention is to return for a strategic review process to assess whether WWE is a good target to sell. He further noted that “unless he has direct involvement as executive chairman from the start of a strategic review, he will not support or approve any media rights deal or sale.”
News of the investigation into McMahon’s conduct was first revealed by the Wall Street Journal last year. McMahon was reported to have paid hush money to an employee with whom he had an affair. It was later reported in July that he had actually paid $12 million in payments to women since 2006.
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