Eric Bischoff reacted in disbelief to the revelation that Tony Khan’s company, Base 10, submitted a bid to purchase WWE in 2023, questioning what the company would have looked like under AEW’s owner.
Speaking on 83 Weeks, Bischoff was informed of the news from court documents reported by Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics and POST Wrestling, which revealed for the first time that Base 10 had been one of four bidders in the WWE acquisition process before Endeavor ultimately won the merger that created TKO Group Holdings.
Bischoff did not hold back his reaction. “Can you imagine the cluster that that would have been?” Bischoff said. “Imagine Tony Khan trying to run WWE. Oh gosh.”
Despite his skepticism about Khan’s suitability for running WWE, Bischoff acknowledged that when WWE does eventually come up for sale again, Khan could be among the most logical buyers given the scale of what the deal would require. “Not only could I imagine it, I am going to make a bold prediction,” Bischoff said. “If and when WWE is ever for sale, it is going to be Saudi Arabia or Tony Khan who buys the thing. That is the only logical play. I cannot imagine anybody else who would be willing to pay the premium that TKO is going to be looking for outside of perhaps Saudi Arabia or Tony Khan.”
Base 10’s bid of $76.83 per share was the lowest of the four offers submitted, representing a full company valuation of approximately $6.9 billion compared to the winning Endeavor bid valued at $95.66 per share before synergies. The court filing noted that Base 10 would have needed equity and debt financing partners to complete the transaction, suggesting the bid lacked the financial backing of the other three offers.
TKO’s share price currently trades at approximately $200, roughly doubling the bid prices from 2023. WWE has not commented on the revelation.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit 83 Weeks with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
