Vince McMahon Sells Nearly $40 Million Of WWE Stock For "Estate Planning Purposes"
WWE announced in an SEC filing on Monday that Vince McMahon sold 2,191,894 shares of WWE stock this week, worth approximately $38 – 39 million. That amounts to 6% of the company's outstanding shares, which leaves McMahon with 37,080,747 shares, or around 48.8% of the company. It was noted that McMahon sold the shares "for estate planning purposes for the benefit of Mr. McMahon and certain members of Mr. McMahon's family."
From the SEC filing:
On May 16, 2016, the Vincent K. McMahon 2013 Irrev. Trust U/A dtd. December 5, 2013 (the "GRAT") sold 2,191,894 shares of Class A common stock of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (the "Company") in a block trade made in accordance with the provisions of Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The GRAT was established by Vincent K. McMahon ("Mr. McMahon"), the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, for estate planning purposes for the benefit of Mr. McMahon and certain members of Mr. McMahon's family. The GRAT sale was executed for liquidity and asset diversification. After the sale, the GRAT continues to own 1,547,372 shares of the Company's Class B common stock. The GRAT may, at any time, subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, dispose of some or all of its remaining shares of the Company's common stock depending on various factors, including, but not limited to, the price of the shares of the Company's Class A common stock, the terms and conditions of the transaction and prevailing market conditions, as well as liquidity, family planning and diversification objectives. Other than possible additional sales by the GRAT, Mr. McMahon informed the Company that he has no current plans to sell any shares of the Company's stock and that he intends to continue in his capacity as the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the foreseeable future.
The 2,191,894 shares sold by the GRAT represent approximately 6% of the Company's outstanding shares of Class A common stock. After the sale, Mr. McMahon beneficially owns 37,080,747 shares of the Company's Class B common stock, which represents approximately 86% of the Company's total voting power and approximately 48.8% of the Company's total outstanding shares of common stock.
Brandon Howard of Seeking Alpha on Twitter posted the chart below breaking down approximately what the breakdown of ownership looks like after the sale:
Best I can count, here's the breakdown of $WWE ownership after Vince sold over 2 million shares (2.8% of WWE) today. pic.twitter.com/6X0ZcbERTm
? Brandon Howard (@adecorativedrop) May 17, 2016