WWE’s Vince McMahon isn’t eager to sell the family-controlled enterprise, but he will entertain offers.
“We’re open to anything,” the pro wrestling czar said when asked if takeover interest in content companies such as UFC and Time Warner had relaxed his go-it-alone policy.
Robert Routh of FBN Securities took McMahon’s comments — made Thursday during an earnings call — to mean WWE may finally be receptive to being acquired. Any suitor, however, would have to let WWE “control its destiny,” he said.
WWE stock tumbled before McMahon’s comments, falling 9 percent in the morning, when the company said third-quarter operating profit rose 4.7 percent, to $24.5 million, on a slight revenue fall.
Shares closed up 4 cents. The WWE Network saw 24 percent subscriber growth.