According to a new report by CNBC, per sources, AEW is interested in merging with WWE.
The CNBC report indicates per their sources, that Tony and Shahid Khan, owners of AEW reportedly “could partner with a strategic media company to share the intellectual property while merging the wrestling leagues.” It was also said according to sources, the Khans are said to be open to discussing a potential role for Vince McMahon after a sale, but have not had those talks with McMahon himself.
The CNBC report also notes the following:
-The idea that Vince McMahon, the controlling shareholder of WWE, would merge his company with the much smaller AEW is a long shot…McMahon may view selling to the Khans as a non-starter.
-It’s unclear what type of job McMahon would want with WWE after a sale…McMahon was worth more than $3 billion as of last July
-Shahid Khan, 72, is ranked 292 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $7.56 billion. He is the owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL League and Fulham F.C. of the Premier League He also owns auto parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate.
The key word is interested. We will provide any further updates should they become available.
We previously reported that Stephanie McMahon and her husband Triple H (WWE’s Chief Content Officer) “oppose” the sale of WWE. On Thursday evening WWE sent out a press release announcing the company has engaged in outside advisors to support review of strategic alternatives as it pertains to a potential sale.
There was a rumor on Tuesday that WWE had sold to the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, which turned out to be untrue. However, in addition to the Saudi’s interested in the acquisition of WWE, Endeavor Group Holdings, Disney and Comcast are those among that are said to also be interested in purchasing WWE.
On Thursday, According to a report from Barrons, which is the sister publication for The Wall Street Journal, the Kahn family is said to be interested in purchasing WWE.