The $147.5 million settlement in the WWE merger lawsuit just cleared a major hurdle, with the issues between the TKO side and Vince McMahon now resolved. At this point, the parties say they’re essentially waiting on insurance companies to give the final green light before the paperwork can be signed.
In an August 24 letter to Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster, attorneys told the Delaware Court of Chancery that TKO and the defendants tied to the company believe the outstanding issues involving releases between the defendants have been handled. The remaining holdup is final approval from certain insurance carriers, and the parties expect that approval to come quickly.
“The D&O Defendants and TKO believe they have addressed the outstanding issues regarding the intra-defendant releases at issue, and are awaiting final signoff from certain non-party insurance carriers.”
The letter went even further, saying TKO and the defendants expect to have authority to sign the settlement paperwork as soon as that insurance approval comes through.
“The D&O Defendants and TKO understand that approval should be obtained promptly, and anticipate being able to provide signature authority for the stipulation of settlement immediately upon receiving that approval.”
McMahon isn’t the one holding things up at this point. The filing states that McMahon and the shareholders suing over WWE’s sale have already authorized execution of the settlement exactly as it is currently written.
“Defendant McMahon and Plaintiffs have already authorized the execution of the stipulation of settlement as drafted.”
The plaintiffs aren’t exactly thrilled about waiting for the insurers either. Their position is that insurance approval was never supposed to be a condition of the settlement, and they warned that they could return to court if the paperwork continues to sit unsigned.
“Plaintiffs’ position is that they continue to reject that sign off by non-party insurers is a valid basis for parties to an already-agreed-upon settlement to refuse to execute settlement papers.”
The parties asked to report back to the court by close of business August 25 if the settlement papers weren’t filed before then, and Vice Chancellor Laster approved that request. So unless the signatures come in first, the court should get another update on where things stand.
This all comes after the full price tag of the settlement became public. WWE is putting up $105 million, while McMahon and his insurers are responsible for another $42.5 million, bringing the total settlement to $147.5 million. The shareholder lawsuit accused McMahon of steering WWE’s sale toward Endeavor in a way that protected his own position while potentially costing shareholders a better deal elsewhere.
The big difference now is that the fight over how the settlement gets executed appears to be over. McMahon has signed off, the TKO side says its issues have been addressed, and the last thing standing between the parties and completed settlement papers is approval from the insurance carriers. Barring another snag, the $147.5 million WWE merger lawsuit settlement looks much closer to finally being put to bed.
Do you think the settlement papers will finally get signed now that the issues between the parties have been resolved, or could the insurance situation cause another delay? Let us know what you think and leave your feedback in the comments.
