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WWE set to face a big departure following merger with UFC: Report
WWE CFO & President Frank A. Riddick III will reportedly leave the company at the end of this month
Just a day after its official merger with UFC, WWE has had to deal with a shocking departure. It is being learnt that WWE CFO & President Frank A. Riddick III is leaving the wrestling promotion. A report published by Fightful Select claims that WWE President Nick Khan had issued an internal memo this morning to convey Riddick’s departure.
The memo reads, "After over thirteen years on our Board of Directors and almost two years after joining WWE full time as our CFO and serving as President/CFO, Frank Riddick will be leaving the company post the TKO close at the end of this month. Frank is a highly respected colleague, and it has been a pleasure to work alongside him. We are grateful for his counsel, support and dedicated years of service and wish him only continued success moving forward. Nick Khan.”
Before joining WWE, Riddick served as CEO for FloWorks International, LLC, JMC Steel Group, Formica Corporation, and Triangle Pacific Corp., and President/COO of Armstrong World Industries, Inc. He had been in executive management positions, including Chief Financial Officer, Controller, Treasurer, and Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions.
According to media reports, Riddick will leave WWE at the end of this month. Riddick became the first executive to leave WWE since its merger with UFC. The merger, reportedly, helped him in receiving a $5 million bonus.
The merger of WWE and UFC was first announced earlier this year in April. The much-awaited incorporation resulted in a newly-formed entity, named TKO, which has a valuation of $21.4 billion. It is being reported that, Endeavor, the parent company of UFC, will own 51 per cent of TKO while WWE shareholders secured 49 per cent of the ownership.
“Where we want to get is where every UFC fan is a WWE fan and every WWE fan is a UFC fan," UFC senior executive vice president and chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein told ESPN.
“We've always thought there was just incredible opportunity to sort of roll up these two great brands and great organizations in the combat sports space. We were a little bit early in our thinking on this thing. And of course, it's really exciting and really a dream come true to have this come together,” Epstein added.
Former WWE chairman Vince McMahon will act as the executive chairman of TKO. Former UFC president Dana White will now assume the role UFC CEO. Meanwhile, WWE chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque’s role will not change much. He is expected to still remain the head of WWE's creative team as well handle duties of Chief Content Officer for the wrestling promotion.
