Wall Street Executive Thinks Vince McMahon Wants to Sell WWE

– Lemelson Capital founder Emmanuel Lemelson is of the opinion that the McMahons intend to sell WWE. Lemelson, who manages one of the largest hedge funds in the world, spoke with Benzinga for a new article about WWE and the Network and said that the company is “clearly an acquisition target.”

Lemelson said that he believes the company is in a particularly “special situation,” opining that it has poor fiscal management but excellent creative management. He is of the opinion that a new management team or a company sale will likely play out in the future. He was very positive about the company’s brand, noting their international appeal and saying that the company’s assessed value of $1 billion is flawed as they were likely worth that much before the network’s launch.

He added that the third-quarter results will not likely have much of an impact on stock prices, either positive or negative, and said of the Network, “The OTT network was a brilliant idea, but the timing and execution from a strategic partnership perspective were wrong, The real value of WWE is not the OTT network; it’s the moat around its brand and prospective earnings power under the right fiscal leadership.”

The third quarter results will be revealed this week during the traditional quarterly call.