The WWE Could Go Up for Sale - Will Disney Buy It?

The Walt Disney Company has acquired quite a few other companies throughout the course of its history.

©Disney

Companies acquired by Disney over the past few decades include Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. Now, though, the Walt Disney Company could be acquiring another property, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., otherwise known as WWE.

Okay, some background information is in order: According to CNBC, WWE Board Member Vince McMahon recently returned to direct the potential sale of the company ahead of its media rights renewal contract. The sale of the company has been a hot topic since earlier this year, but this time it looks like it might actually happen.

©WWE

So why is WWE serious about a sale now? Whoever owns the company would have exclusive streaming rights without having to deal with the renewal of the rights every few years. WWE “also has value to offer in merchandising and theme park businesses.”

So you can see how a company like Disney might be interested, right? With Bob Iger returning as CEO, it’s possible he could purchase WWE to further round out Disney’s streaming offerings and perhaps even bring WWE to ESPN+.

However, Disney’s rival, Comcast, is also a potential buyer. At the moment, WWE already has an exclusive streaming deal with Peacock, as well as a cable TV deal with NBCUniversal’s USA Network. Comcast could easily buy WWE, avoiding upcoming rights renewal costs, and then use the IP for movies, spin-off shows, and theme parks.

©Comcast

However, if both Comcast and Disney start bidding on WWE, there could be a battle between the companies, driving up the cost of the sale. This is what happened in 2019 when both companies wanted to buy Fox — in the end, the final sale price was increased by tens of billions of dollars of Disney’s first bid.

Of course, at this point, this is all speculation, and we’ll have to wait and see if Disney shows interest in acquiring WWE. Until then, we’ll continue to keep an eye on The Walt Disney Company and see what happens.