The Saudi Public Investment Fund have a majority stake in Newcastle United.
Vince McMahon has reportedly agreed to sell the WWE franchise to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
DAZN have reported that the wrestling company has been sold to the Middle Eastern country’s investment fund, claiming that the company ‘will go back to being private’ for the first time since 1999, when it became a publicly traded company.
https://twitter.com/SMuehlhausenJr/status/1613014122517655552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1613014122517655552%7Ctwgr%5Ef1961a133802328228a8fe2a0a1508724c42ca11%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportbible.com%2Fwrestling%2Fvince-mcmahon-reportedly-sells-wwe-to-saudi-arabia-pif-824723-20230111
It’s unknown if McMahon will return to head up creative, a role which has been taken on by Triple H following McMahon’s retirement.
Talk of a sale first emerged after the 77-year-old, who retired in July 2022, announced that he was reinstating himself onto the board of directors.
At the time McMahon said that his role was vital ‘to maximise the value for all WWE shareholder’ as they underwent ‘strategic alternatives’ ahead of selling the company.
Stephanie McMahon, Vince’s daughter, announced her resignation from the board on Tuesday with immediate effect as a result of her father’s return to the board.
She said: “WWE is in such a strong position, that I have decided to return to my leave and take it one step further with my official resignation.”
Then. Now. Forever. Together. pic.twitter.com/8dqr5reIiv
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) January 10, 2023
The sale of WWE is no surprise after McMahon announced his intention to sell the company upon returning.
Several big names have registered their interest in buying the WWE including Comcast, Disney, Amazon, and Netflix.
WWE has been in partnership with Saudi Arabia since 2014 and has regularly held events known as the ‘Crown Jewel’ in the capital, Riyadh.
Their partnership has faced criticism due to the country’s abhorrent human rights record on both women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community.
Last year the Saudi PIF bought Newcastle for a £300bn, making them the richest club in the world as they took an 80 per cent majority stake in the Premier League side.
