Fightful was issued the following statement from those close to Vince McMahon, as it pertains to the WWE Shareholder lawsuit.
An agreement in principle has been reached in the WWE merger lawsuit filed by shareholders.
The trial was set to begin on Monday, June 8, but was removed from the Delaware Court of Chancery calendar over the weekend. Court Administrator Tamara Burton later confirmed that the trial had been canceled.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics was told by Burton, “At the parties’ request, the trial is canceled. The parties have advised the court that they will present the settlement for approval in due course.”
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2023, alleges that Vince McMahon predetermined the transaction with Endeavor to secure his continued role at the company in light of the sexual misconduct scandal surrounding him, rather than shopping WWE to maximize shareholder value.
McMahon, Nick Khan, Ari Emanuel, Triple H, and more were all set to testify. McMahon and Khan were already sanctioned by the judge for destroying evidence. Attorneys representing a class of WWE shareholders in the merger lawsuit argued that, based on their expert report, they were owed close to $1 billion.
A source close to Vince McMahon reached out to Fightful Select and other outlets and said:
“This exact kind of litigation follows every single transaction involving a public company.
But here’s the key: Endeavor’s bid was by far the highest. It was signed off on by three separate independent banks – JP Morgan, Raine and Moelis. That’s why WWE’s Board of Directors gave their unanimous approval.
The deal created the premier combat sports company. And the shareholders made an absolute fortune.”
We should reiterate that this is the statement of someone close to Vince and not factual in nature.
We reached out to sources involved in the other lawsuits with WWE and TKO that believe at least one of them will make it to discovery.