It’s seconds out on a £7bn smack down for WWE

It’s famous for dramatic wrangles inside the ring, watched by a devoted army of fans. But now, there’s a heavyweight battle going on behind the scenes for the giant World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) company.

Several US conglomerates as well as the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund are grappling for control of the £5.5 billion production group.

And to make it more intriguing, there is a fallout between two generations of the McMahon family which controls the company – with commentators saying the situation bears a greater resemblance to the power struggles in the TV drama Succession than the flamboyant antics of WWE wrestlers.

Thousands of private UK investors will be watching keenly, as City asset manager Lindsell Train, popular with British savers, is among the leading shareholders.

The London-based firm owns a stake of more than 17 per cent, currently worth £551 million, and investors could be in line for a lucrative payday.

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WWE, which films and licenses professional wrestling bouts to TV channels all over the world, has kickstarted the showbiz careers of stars such as Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and John Cena.

Those jostling for ownership of the business are reported to include the Saudi Public Investment Fund, telecoms giant Liberty Global, which owns Virgin Media O2 in the UK, and Endeavour Group, which controls martial arts tournament the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Whoever triumphs will own a media monster that last year raked in revenues of £1.1 billion and a profit of £230 million.

Professional wrestling is huge business internationally and WWE sits at the top of the pile, with an estimated 36 million viewers across 180 countries.

The franchise is well known for its outlandish theatricality, featuring characters including ‘The Undertaker’, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan.

But the last year has seen a similarly dramatic saga play out in WWE’s boardroom, centred on its longserving boss and founder Vince McMahon, a former wrestling commentator.

In February, a report emerged that he is seeking as much as £7.3 billion for the company – 33 per cent more than its current market value – putting his 40 per cent stake at around £2.9 billion.

McMahon, 77, bought the company from his father 40 years ago before going on to dominate the industry during a professional wrestling boom.

He even crafted his own on-screen persona, playing a villainised version of himself that often involved handling piles of cash before strutting into the ring wearing a business suit, only to be battered by his wrestler employees. A particularly sensational episode occurred in 2007 when McMahon faced off against Donald Trump in a staged feud dubbed the ‘Battle of the Billionaires’. It culminated in Trump shaving the head of the WWE boss.

McMahon retired suddenly last July following a series of allegations that he had paid around £9.7 million in hush money to former WWE employees, which he denied. He was succeeded by his daughter Stephanie, 46, a former professional wrestler who debuted on WWE in 1999.

She is married to Paul Levesque – better known by his stage name Hunter Hearst Helmsley, or ‘Triple H’.

He is also the company’s chief content officer, in charge of WWE’s storylines and action in the ring.

Daddy’s girl: Stephanie McMahon, daughter of kingpin Vince, in her wrestling days

But things were thrown into disarray in January when Vince – who remains WWE’s controlling shareholder – made a dramatic return to the board in a coup in which he forced out several other members and replaced them with loyalists.

He was reinstated into his former role as executive chairman.

Stephanie, long considered the heir apparent, resigned shortly after and has left the business.

The comeback set the scene for frantic speculation about the future of WWE. The company said he had returned to conduct a ‘strategic review’, which many interpreted as possibly including a sale.

Some industry experts think the huge sum McMahon is asking for is too big for most buyers to swallow.

‘I don’t think many buyers are going to be willing to pay £7.3 billion,’ said Brandon Thurston, editor of the Wrestlenomics blog and podcast. ‘If that’s really Vince’s asking price, then only the Saudis are going to get close.’

Thurston added that McMahon was unlikely to agree a deal which would see him permanently exit the company.

McMahon also seems to have mended fences with the business over his misconduct allegations.

A filing revealed he had paid the company £14.1 million earlier this month to cover costs associated with an internal probe into the matter.

With such eye-watering sums at stake, as well as the hearts of millions of wrestling fans, the war over WWE is heading for a tense showdown before McMahon finally decides to tap out.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk