Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
WWE Saudi Arabia Settlement Overview:
- Who: Investors are getting a $39 million payout after suing World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., better known as the WWE.
- Why: The plaintiffs claimed the WWE misled them about business dealings in Saudi Arabia, fraudulently inflating stock prices. The WWE chose to settle the class action lawsuit rather than let it play out in court.
- Where: The class action lawsuit being settled by the WWE was filed in federal court in New York.
The WWE has agreed to pay $39 million to investors who claim the company misled them about its business dealings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, avoiding a prolonged legal smackdown.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. said it had reached an agreement with shareholders, Wrestling Inc. reported.
The final settlement comes after a class action lawsuit — led by the Firefighters’ Pension System of the Kansas City, Missouri Trust — was filed in March 2020 alleging that WWE executives deceived investors over the WWE’s dealings in the Middle Eastern nation.
Plaintiffs said the executives inflated the company stock and sold more than $280 million worth of shares at fraudulently inflated prices.
“Among other things, the plaintiffs in the Actions have alleged violations by certain current and former Company directors and officers related to disclosures concerning the Company’s business relationship in and with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and that certain of these defendants engaged in improper stock trading,” last week’s SEC filing states.
The class action alleges that WWE officials didn’t tell investors that a deal with the kingdom for TV rights had not been finalized, prematurely causing stock prices to rise.
“Although the Company and the other defendants have denied, and continue to deny, all claims asserted by the plaintiffs in the Actions, the Company believes that resolving the Actions in accordance with the terms of the proposed settlement is the proper business decision and that it is prudent to end the protracted and uncertain derivative litigation process on the terms of the proposed settlement,” the WWE said in its SEC filing.
The settlement includes a full release of all defendants in connection with all allegations made, and an order that WWE will implement and maintain certain corporate governance measures.
The plaintiffs seek payment of their attorneys’ fees, reimbursement of expenses, and case contribution awards, which will be paid by the WWE’s insurance carriers, the SEC filing says.
According to Wrestling Inc., the cash settlement represents around 18.2 percent of estimated class-wide damages. The settlement Class includes everyone who bought WWE common stock from Feb. 7, 2019 through Feb. 5, 2020, and lost money.
The lead counsel on the class action will receive $7.02 million in attorney’s fees, which translates to 18 percent of the settlement fund.
The pension fund representing the investors as lead plaintiff will receive more than $6,200 as reimbursement of costs and expenses, Wrestling Inc. reported
This is not the first class action lawsuit the WWE has faced. In 2016, multiple former professional wrestlers filed a class action lawsuit against both the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and its chairman, alleging the WWE concealed the long-term health effects caused by traumatic brain injuries.
What do you think of this settlement with the WWE? Let us know in the comments!
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
4 thoughts onWWE Takes $39M Hit to Settle Claims of Lying to Investors Over Saudi Arabia Deal
Please add me
Please add me
Please add me
Please add me