TKO wasn’t involved in recent Vince McMahon stock sale
TKO Group Holdings had no involvement in Vince McMahon’s recent selloff of company stock.
It was revealed earlier this week that McMahon was selling approximately 25 percent of his stock in TKO, which is the parent company of WWE and the UFC. McMahon is expected to receive more than $400 million from the sale. He will still own approximately 8.3 percent of the company following this stock sale.
While appearing at a conference presented by investment banking company Morgan Stanley on Wednesday, Endeavor and TKO executive Mark Shapiro confirmed that TKO “did not participate in the recent sale” of McMahon’s stock.
Shapiro is the president and chief operating officer of TKO. He stated that TKO is not in conversations with McMahon and does not know his motives for the stock sale.
“We don’t know his motives, his plans or his timeline,” Shapiro said. “He doesn’t work for the company, doesn’t come into the office and he’s not coming back to the company. And that’s where we sit.”
McMahon resigned from WWE and TKO this January in the wake of the lawsuit that was filed against him by former WWE employee Janel Grant. McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis are named as defendants in the lawsuit. McMahon is accused of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault, and sex trafficking.
TKO was formed last September after Endeavor’s acquisition of WWE became official. McMahon was executive chairman of TKO prior to his resignation.
McMahon also sold off some of his TKO stock last November. At the time, he sold approximately 30 percent of the stock that he owned.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.