WWE Shareholder Lawsuit Against Vince McMahon Over His WWE Return in 2023 & Sale to Endeavor Update – Settlement Submitted & Defendants Set To Pay $147.5 Million

As noted before, a group of WWE shareholders filed a lawsuit in November of 2023 against former TKO and WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon over claims that McMahon had engaged in a “sham sale process” for WWE’s sale to Endeavor. McMahon, WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE President Nick Khan, and others executives were accused of destroying evidence related to the lawsuit. Both McMahon and Khan were sanctioned by the court this past May for destroying evidence related to the lawsuit case. An agreement in principle for a settlement deal was reached this past June resulting in the trial for the lawsuit being cancelled. McMahon and WWE’s portion of the settlement payment owed was revealed earlier this month to be around $147.5 million. Issues that had been delaying the finalization of the settlement deal were recently resolved.

Post Wrestling and Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that an official settlement filing was submitted on Wednesday based on recent court records.

This filing reportedly confirmed that the settlement deal requires $147.5 million from the defendants: Vince McMahon, Nick Khan, Paul Levesque, George Barrios, and Michelle Wilson.

Thurston reported that the eligible shareholder class is defined as anyone who held WWE stock on September 12, 2023, which is the day those shares converted one-for-one into TKO stock. Thurston also reported that the defendants who held stock at the time cannot benefit from the settlement nor can former defendants Frank Riddick and Steve Koonin, who were dropped from the case in 2024.

Thurston also reported that the plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel, firms Block & Leviton LLP and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, will seek fees of up to 33% of the settlement fund, or roughly $48.7 million. This amount reportedly could possibly increase depending on interest that accrues while the fund sits in escrow. Thurston reported that after fees, administrative costs, and taxes are taken, the remaining “net settlement fund” will likely be around $100 million to distributed to shareholders.

In regards to the settlement money to be paid out, Thurston reported that there is no sign that any of the defendants other than possibly McMahon are going to pay out personally.

TKO had disclosed in a SEC regulatory filing earlier this month that WWE is responsible for $105 million of the the settlement with $75 million of that amount expected to come from the company’s insurers.

Thurston reported that a court hearing is still scheduled to be taking place where Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster will consider the fairness of the settlement. Shareholders reportedly will separately receive notice of their right to object to whether the settlement is fair.