Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images by Sai Mohan/Updated: Jan. 13, 2023 10:18 am EST
Shahid Khan and Tony Khan, the owners of AEW, are reportedly “interested” in merging their burgeoning wrestling promotion with WWE.
A new report from CNBC quotes an anonymous AEW source as saying that the Khans, who also own the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and the Premier League’s Fulham FC, are exploring the possibility of partnering “with a strategic media company to acquire the intellectual property.” to share as they merge wrestling leagues.”
In addition, the report adds that the Khans are “open to discussing a possible role for [Vince] McMahon” if a WWE-AEW merger were to occur, although “it’s unclear what sort of job McMahon wants to have with WWE after a sale.”
Despite AEW’s apparent interest in the Blockbuster acquisition, CNBC believes such a merger is “a long way off” and that McMahon could view the sale of his billionaire company to the Khans “as a non-starter,” especially given numerous media conglomerates as potential suitors for up a WWE sale.
The report further confirms that the Khans have not yet entered into discussions with McMahon or Nick Khan, the WWE CEO, who reportedly met with senior Disney and ESPN executives Monday to discuss a possible WWE sale.
On Thursday, another report from Barron’s listed AEW as potential contenders for a WWE sale but did not name The Khans as favorites in the WWE Sweepstakes. Comcast (-140), Disney (+350) and Endeavor Group Holdings (+900) remain the leading bidders to buy the world’s largest wrestling promotion, according to oddsmakers. As previously mentioned, WWE on Thursday announced the hiring of financial advisor Raine Group to facilitate an upcoming sale.