[EXCLUSIVE] WWE & Vince McMahon -Hit With Class Action Lawsuit

WWE was not able to negotiate the lucrative television rights deal that Defendants led investors to expect. On May 15, 2014, WWE announced that it had reached a multi-year deal with NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment to distribute its Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown properties.

Notably absent from the release was any information concerning the value and length of the agreement. On that same day, after the market closed, WWE issued a press release which provided investors with some insight into the true value of the Company’s key content agreements.

The press release revealed that the annual value of all of WWE’s key television distribution agreements increased by approximately $92 million, which includes an increase of approximately $57 million for the U.S. market. Thus, contrary to Defendants’ previous statements concerning WWE’s ability to double the value of its television license agreement, the actual value increase was only approximately 50%. When the Company revealed the truth about the value of its new distribution deal, WWE’s stock price plummeted to $11.27 per share on May 16, 2014, a decline of 43% from a previous day closing price of $19.93 per share

They filed suit for themselves and anyone else that purchased stock stating the WWE, “(i) made false and misleading statements, (ii) engaged in a scheme to deceive the market, and (iii) engaged in a course of conduct that artificially inflated the price of WWE securities and operated as a fraud or deceit on Class Period purchasers of WWE securities by misrepresenting the Company’s business and prospects. They are seeking unspecified damages for the company’s actions. Read the Exclusive Court Documents.

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