Former TKO Group Holdings executive chairman and WWE founder Vince McMahon has sold more of his stake in the company he is leaving.
Mr. McMahon, 78, sold just under 3.5 million shares and received “approximately $100 million” in proceeds from the sale, according to financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This is the third time McMahon has sold a portion of his stake in TKO Group Holdings, the combined company of WWE and UFC. The first sale in 2023 yielded a gain of approximately $670 million, while the second sale, completed in March, paid $408 million.
This latest deal means McMahon has earned more than $1.17 billion from the sale of his TKO stake.
Mr. McMahon still owns more than 11.5 million shares of TKO stock, worth just under $1 billion based on the current stock price, according to financial disclosures. This represents a significant reduction in headcount for the former WWE Chairman, who was one of TKO's largest shareholders when the company was founded.
Endeavor, the talent agency that acquired the UFC in 2016 for just over $4 billion, has completed a deal to take ownership of WWE. The agency retained a 51 percent controlling stake in the company, with the remaining 49 percent belonging to existing WWE shareholders, including McMahon.
Ari Emanuel oversees TKO Group Holdings as CEO and is ultimately responsible for the company's important decisions.
McMahon's latest stock sale comes as a former employee filed a lawsuit involving disturbing allegations of sexual assault, sex trafficking and other abuse suffered while working for the pro wrestling mogul. This was done after he severed ties with WWE.
Following McMahon's departure, TKO Group Holdings President Mark Shapiro spoke out about selling the former executive's stake.
“He's going to do whatever he's going to do. We're all on the sidelines,” Shapiro said of McMahon. “Let's see, let's see. We have no idea about the timing. We haven't had any discussions with him. He hasn't told us his motives, whether to sell or not to sell. , has not given any insight into how much they plan to sell, if at all. So we, like you, will wait and find out the outcome.”
The sale was completed when an unnamed bank purchased McMahon stock between March 5 and March 25.
