WWE Shares Pop On Upgrade, Merger Buzz After Vince McMahon Exit

deadline.com:

Shares of WWE jumped to a new 52-week high Monday, rising more than 10% amid executive and financial tumult on speculation that Vince McMahon’s exit could nudge a sale of the company.“This is a challenging environment with the equities of most of the logical buyers depressed, but there is demand for live event programming, and it is the first time that one could realistically think that WWE could be for sale,” said longtime media analyst Alan Gould of Loop Capital.

Buyers could include Comcast, Disney, Amazon, and possibly Netflix, he wrote in a note to clients. With sports rights in high demand and surging in value, he called the franchise unique, with significant upside.WWE’s biggest contract — for U.S.

media rights — expires in October, 2024 with renewal news expected in the next year. A streaming deal with Peacock sunsets in early 2026.McMahon, who owns 81% of WWE’s voting shares, stepped down Friday as the board investigates payouts he made to women over years in exchange for silence about affairs and inappropriate conduct.

The company today quantified the payments at $14.6 million. It said it’s in the process of restating past earnings to account for them and hopes to issue updated financials in August.Gould noted that WWE’s US TV rights increased 3.6x in its 2019 renewal to $470 million per year as Fox joined Comcast bidding for the rights. “We have been forecasting a 50% increase in 2024, which we believe could be conservative, especially if the linear deal is combined with the streaming deal which expires in early 2026.