Vince McMahon selling $82 million of WWE stock!

[Ultra Violence 0]

The WWE issued a press release this morning regarding Vince McMahon and family selling off a tremendous amount of its personal holdings in World Wrestling Entertainment. Below is the official statement:

 

STAMFORD, Conn., May 12, 2004 – World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) announced today that approximately 6.1 million shares of its Class A common stock owned by the Vincent K. McMahon Irrevocable Trust (the "Trust") are being offered for sale in a public offering pursuant to a shelf registration statement that has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

What percentage of the WWE is that? Does this mean Vince is leaving the business? Will Ted Turner buy the stock? If a corprate figure not interested in wrestling were to purchase the company who would run it? Heyman? Bischoff? Cornette? Discuss~~~~~~~~~!

[BifEverchad 0]

I don't think Vince would be *that* stupid to just throw away a large percentage of his company and allow Turner or another business type to take it over. Especially with Shane, Step and Trips waiting in the wings.

[Guest nikowwf]

Its not close to a percentage that would even come close to being interesting news...(im not trying to be rude btw, its just true.) The percentage has to be small, like 10 to 20% at the most. (I actually think its lower, but im not sure the current valuation of the company.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

For Fucks sake Bif, don't go sayin' shit like "I don't think Vince would be *that* stupid" because all know full well that he finds ways of proving you wrong.

[Guest webmasterofwrestlegame]

nikowwf is correct - Vince obviously wants a little more capital untied for a personal spend-up.

[Ultra Violence 0]

The thing is maybe he's decided its time to sell out slowly, he's had his 20 wrestlemanias and he's realised the business probably won't improve far above its current level. I have no objection though, if Vince leaves the chances of creative being replaced is higher.

[Guest drdrainoscott]

Meltzer talked about this in the latest Observer. All that it means is that Vince's ownership in the company is reduced from about 80% to something like 61%, but Vince makes something like $12 million by selling the stock. It isn't that big of a deal.

[Guest duck420]

vince knows his stock is going to decrease for a while because smackdowns ppv buys are going to SUCK for the next 4 months. i bet bradshaw advised this. he was like vince if you sell your stock before you make me champion then it will drop afterwords and you can buy it back at a lower cost becuse i will make smackdown unwatchable especially to all those damn mexicans

[BifEverchad 0]

For Fucks sake Bif, don't go sayin' shit like "I don't think Vince would be *that* stupid" because all know full well that he finds ways of proving you wrong.

I stand corrected.

[Kizzo 0]

This only means Vince owns 60 to 65% of the company now instead of 80 to 85%..... I think that's correct......He still has big influence in the company....and he still has the deciding vote..

 

I wonder who would want to step in if McMahon sold more of the stock....?????

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

The thing is maybe he's decided its time to sell out slowly, he's had his 20 wrestlemanias and he's realised the business probably won't improve far above its current level. I have no objection though, if Vince leaves the chances of creative being replaced is higher.

I can't see that being remotely close to being true.

[Guest SpiderFan]

Even if Vince did want out, I don't think he'd be selling off the company to someone outside the family. I can't picutre WWE outside the McMahon family.

[Kizzo 0]

You are right SpiderFan, we couldn't possibly picture this company without the name McMahon involved.....but you never know...it may just be a good idea to let someone other than a McMahon have a say in the company corporate wise....

 

Break the company into two...with someone ownng one part of the WWE and the McMahons controlling the other....Which means making RAW and Smackdown actual companies....now thats a TRUE split

[Lil' Bitch 0]

How much is a WWE stock worth?

[Anakin Flair 0]

Maybe he needs the capital to purchas all of the Japanese footag he wants to use on future DVD's (Benoit, etc)

[Guest Dazed]

How much is a WWE stock worth?

There's a link to view the current WWE stock value in the Helpful Links thread.

[buffybeast 0]

Could it be that Mcmahon simply is having a personal cash flow problem? I suspect much of his personal net worth is tied up in WWE stock.

[Fökai 0]

As long as Vince controls at least 51% of the company, we shouldn't be worried about the ramifications of Vince's plan. In this case, it just creates a new bankroll for the family, while maintaining controlling interest in the company. Owning 63%, 78%, or 99% of the company means absolutely nothing in the long run, so Vince is looking to to take some of the money that's tied up in the stock and place it into his family's pocket.

[Guest PowerPB13]

Maybe Vince should just sell the company, he might actually make a profit this year.

 

-Patrick

[Guest Coffey]

He makes a profit every year.

[Guest PowerPB13]

Well, it's a new year...

 

-Patrick

[Gert T 0]

Remember though too, Vince is selling Class A stock. His family's stock which is Class B stock holds a 10 times stronger vote than Class A. Meaning as a shareholder my vote of making a financial move is worth 1 vote, to McMahon's 10 if he opposes. I believe it was also stated in the IPO that when Class B stock is sold to people outside the McMahon family (as long as he is still majority owner) it changes to Class A stock.

 

Brilliant system for Vince to make money.

[Guest duck420]

i think they just need revenue so they can do 2 ppvs a month as it will lose at first then slowly start to gain. who cares mcmahons money aint my problem. its provn he doesnt care if i spend my money with him

[Guest sanyo]

Vince makes a profit every year? I'm pretty sure the last couple of years have been horrible- even losses. To be honest unless he decides to sell all, it doesn't mean anything. I personally would not invest in the company now- I'd be damn surprised if they record a profit next quarter. Plus there stock has dropped in value and I expect it to go down even more.

[Guest webmasterofwrestlegame]

Vince makes a profit every year? I'm pretty sure the last couple of years have been horrible- even losses. To be honest unless he decides to sell all, it doesn't mean anything. I personally would not invest in the company now- I'd be damn surprised if they record a profit next quarter. Plus there stock has dropped in value and I expect it to go down even more.

 

WWE still makes a lot of money each year. I've had constant dividend cheques come in from Titan Towers. Business may be bad, but they are still cash happy.

 

If anyone cares I can dig out the last company reports and illustrate just how cash happy they are.

[Guest webmasterofwrestlegame]

I just popped over to wrestlingobserver.com and found this:

 

--Because WWE is putting 6.1 to 7.1 million shares of Vince McMahon's stock for sale (more in this week's newsletter on this), they released preliminary figures for the fiscal year that ended on 4/30. A more complete financial review will be available at the investors conference in a few weeks. They are projecting $370-$375 million in total revenue, well above their own projections of $325-350 million (difference largely because of the success of Mania and Rumble). The company expects profits for the year to fall between $44-48 million for the year, making it one of the most successful years for any pro wrestling company in history from a financial standpoint.

 

Losses indeed...

[Guest PowerPB13]

Fuck. WWE is like the cockroach of wrestling promotions...no matter what, it lives on.

 

-Patrick

[Fökai 0]

Vince makes a profit every year? I'm pretty sure the last couple of years have been horrible- even losses.

Wrong.

 

--XFL lost millions of dollars in the 2000-2001 fiscal year, yet they made a profit.

--The World lost millions of dollars in the 2001-2002 fiscal year, yet they made a profit.

--The WWF/WWE lawsuit lost millions in the 2002-2003 fiscal year, yet they made a profit.

 

So far, in this fiscal year, they have to record a loss with any ventures, and made over $50 million from the Wrestlemania PPV.

 

To be honest unless he decides to sell all, it doesn't mean anything. I personally would not invest in the company now- I'd be damn surprised if they record a profit next quarter.

 

They WILL record a profit - please give an example of how they wouldn't, if projects like the XFL, the World and the Panda lawsuit are off the books. Unless McMahon invests in $35 million worth of land in the Everglades area, the company is going to turn a profit this quarter.

 

Plus there stock has dropped in value and I expect it to go down even more.

 

Umm, no. It's at 14 or so right now, the highest price it's been in two years; just last March it was half of that. They're on the rise financially.

 

Google Financial Info on WWE, Inc. (all figures since the IPO in late 1999)

[Guest Jimbo]

So what's Vince worth?

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

Maybe Vince should just sell the company, he might actually make a profit this year.

 

-Patrick

He made one last year, and would have in 2002 if not for legal fees.

 

Do your homework, candy-ass.