WWE Were In Talks With 60 Parties About Sale Of The Company
WWE spoke to 60 parties about potential sale of the company
May 14, 2023
Endeavor are set to acquire WWE before the year is out, with the sale being announced just following WrestleMania 39 earlier this year, in which WWE will go on to merge with UFC under a larger parent company. The topic of who exactly would purchase WWE was a big talking point, and it seems as though there were a lot of potential bidders and investors interested.
In a recent SEC filing, it was revealed that WWE were in contact with up to 60 different parties in regards to the sale of the promotion, before a deal was finally landed with Endeavor.
“Beginning on January 17, 2023 and continuing until April 2, 2023, when WWE executed the transaction agreement, WWE’s financial advisors, acting on its behalf, contacted and were contacted by over 60 potential counterparties, including strategic companies, financial sponsors, family offices and sovereign wealth funds. Between February 6 and March 21, 2023, WWE entered into confidentiality agreements with 20 potential counterparties. All but one of the confidentiality agreements entered into by WWE in connection with this process included a standstill provision for the benefit of WWE with a customary exclusion permitting parties to make proposals to WWE privately and confidentially, and each of the standstill provisions had a duration of at least 12 months. All confidentiality agreements entered into with standstill provisions included the customary exclusion for private proposals and a “fallaway” provision that would allow the counterparty to make a proposal to WWE in the event WWE entered into a definitive sale agreement. Each potential counterparty that had indicated interest in exploring a strategic transaction with WWE was provided an opportunity to enter into a confidentiality agreement with WWE.”
In and around all the business jargon, it states that among the 60 parties who initially entered talks with WWE, only 20 were then pursued further, with it dwindling down and down until it was finally Endeavor who got over the finishing line.
