Vince McMahon Sells Final TKO Shares for $776M+ to End WWE Ties After 50+ Years

WWE co-founder Vince McMahon is ending his association with the promotion after 55 years with the sale of his 8.02 million TKO Group Holdings shares, which were worth $96.76 apiece as of Friday for more than $776 million total.

That news is per Brendan Coffey of Sportico, who made a further clarification on the matter.

"The filing makes the shares eligible for sale, but doesn't mean they will be sold. In practice across the corporate world, such filings typically result in the sale of the listed shares shortly after," Coffey wrote.

The news was revealed after TKO filed a prospectus Friday afternoon.

TKO was formed after WWE and the UFC merged under one new media conglomerate umbrella beginning in September 2023. It is majority owned by Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc.

In January, McMahon resigned as chairman of TKO Group Holdings after ex-WWE staffer Janel Grant filed a lawsuit with allegations of sexual assault, trafficking and physical and emotional abuse via McMahon, other WWE executives and an unnamed WWE superstar, according to Deadline's Dominic Patten. WWE, McMahon and ex-WWE executive John Laurinaitis were named as defendants.

McMahon released a statement following his resignation:

"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.

"However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately."

Prior to the latest stock sale report, McMahon had made about $1.5 billion by selling TKO shares in four separate instances, per Todd Spangler of Variety.

The 78-year-old McMahon began his affiliation with then-World Wide Wrestling Federation, which was owned by his father, in 1969. McMahon bought the company from his father in 1982 and served as WWE's leader for four decades.

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