Vince McMahon’s often-cited voting power among WWE shareholders is about to decrease significantly.
On April 3rd it was announced that WWE had secured a deal with Endeavor, which will see the sports entertainment giant merge with UFC to create a new company. The deal, which will see WWE and UFC both operating under the Endeavor banner, is said to be worth a staggering $21 billion.
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel will hold the same role within the new — as yet unnamed — company, and Vince McMahon will serve as Executive Chairman.
However, with Endeavor controlling 51% of the company and WWE holding 49%, McMahon’s influence, at least to shareholders will be decreasing.
As reported by Wrestlenomics, McMahon will no longer have “majority voting control over WWE,” something he has previously enjoyed for a number of years. It was this level of control that meant he could reinstate himself onto WWE’s Board of Directors back in January. A move that many believe kickstarted this entire process.
The report estimates that McMahon will own around 18% of all shares in the new company with Stephanie McMahon holding 1.2% and Linda McMahon holding 0.4%.
When WWE merges with UFC, Vince McMahon will no longer have majority voting control over WWE or other entities within the new company.
We estimate he'll hold about 18% of all shares.
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Vince McMahon Back In Control, But Not At SmackDown
Following the April 3rd episode of Monday Night Raw, it was reported that Vince McMahon was “firmly back in control” of WWE creative. This is despite both McMahon and the company insisting this wouldn’t be the case.
However, it seems that the April 7th episode of SmackDown was very different. A report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider, via PWInsider Elite, noted that McMahon was not at the show, adding that sources had claimed he reviewed creative for the show remotely.
Johnson states that there were changes made, but they were only minor.
The hope is that McMahon’s influence was only so heavy at Raw as he was in the building