WWE founder Vince McMahon, who stepped down from his posts as executive chairman and board member of TKO Group amid renewed scrutiny around sexual misconduct, is selling a substantial chunk of his stake in the company.
According to a securities filing Tuesday, McMahon plans to sell 5.4 million shares in TKO, which comes out to roughly $412 million. The value of the shares could end up being worth as much as $25 million more, with the company’s stock price closing at $81.67 at market close on Monday.
The shares comprise roughly 25 percent of his remaining stake in TKO. The sale comes after McMahon in November moved to sell 8.4 million shares in the company, with a street value of just over $700 million. Notably, TKO bought back $100 million worth of the shares. Endeavor and TKO chief executive Ari Emanuel, as well as president and COO Mark Shapiro, also collectively purchased $2 million of stock.
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The transaction follows former WWE employee Janel Grant suing McMahon for sex trafficking and battery. The embattled WWE founder tendered his resignation the following day, leaving him with no role at TKO or the wrestling outfit he founded.
In a statement issued in response to the allegations, McMahon said, “I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth. I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.”
During his tenure at WWE, McMahon paid hush money payments to quietly resolve accusations of sexual misconduct. The graphic details in Grant’s suit, however, as well as its timing, which came less than a year after he leveraged his controlling stake in WWE to appoint himself to the company board and put it up for sale, forced his resignation. He lost roughly 87,000 shares of unvested stock units due to his departure.
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