Vince McMahon is seeking as much as $9B in a potential sale of wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). According to sources, the company has already received multiple offers from various groups, including Endeavor Group Holdings, the owner of Ultimate Fighting Championship, and investors from the Middle East. More: - WWE CEO Nick Khan recently denied a report that the company already had a purchase agreement with Saudi investors.
- Endeavor, if seeking to purchase WWE, would need financial backing from a third party as the company is currently worth about $10.4B.
- WWE is in early talks for its next TV deals and could renew its current agreements with Fox and Comcast.
- McMahon, WWE’s controlling shareholder, recently returned to the company as executive chairman after leaving last year following sexual misconduct accusations.
- WWE shares rose nearly 5% on Friday following news of a potential sale. The stock closed at $87.98, up ~1% for the day.
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Nishad Singh, a former member of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, plans to plead guilty to U.S. criminal charges over his role in the collapse of the crypto firm FTX. According to sources, Singh is negotiating a deal with Manhattan prosecutors as they prepare to file fraud charges against him. More: - A potential agreement could involve cooperating with authorities and further isolating Bankman-Fried.
- Earlier this year, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to the eight charges against him, including money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and securities fraud.
- His trial is slated to begin on Oct. 2.
- The case is being handled by prosecutors from the Southern District of New York.
- In December, two of Bankman-Fried’s top lieutenants, Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, signed plea deals with prosecutors and were cooperating with investigations.
- Ellison was the former CEO of Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund Alameda Research, and Wang co-founded FTX with Bankman-Fried.
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The SEC has charged defunct crypto firm Terraform and its co-founder and CEO Do Kwon with fraud. Kwon and Terraform are charged with violating the registration and anti-fraud provisions of both the Securities and Exchange Acts. The complaint was filed in federal court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan. More: - Terraform's collapse in May 2022 wiped about $40B from the market and sent ripples through the crypto industry, leading to a series of high-profile bankruptcies that are still ongoing.
- The SEC has also accused Kwon of transferring thousands of Bitcoin worth millions of dollars to a Swiss bank account following the crypto's firm collapse in May.
- Kwon also faces fraud charges in South Korea.
- Kwon's current whereabouts are unknown; however, according to South Korean intelligence, he is believed to be in Serbia.
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According to a recent court document, top Fox News anchors and executives privately raised concerns about the false claims of voter fraud made on their network following the 2020 presidential election. The unsealed documents are part of a lawsuit brought by voting-machine company Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News and Fox Corp. More: - Dominion is accusing Fox News and Fox Corp of making defamatory on-air comments about its products following the defeat of former President Trump in the 2020 elections.
- Dominion accuses Fox News and Fox Corp of allowing Trump’s associates like Sidney Powell and Rudolph Giuliani to push false theories on their network.
- Dominion’s systems were blamed for throwing the election for President Biden.
- U.S. federal and state officials have said there is no evidence that any voting system deleted or changed votes during the 2020 election.
- Dominion is seeking $1.6B in damages, and the trial is slated to begin on April 17 in Delaware state court.
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A federal judge has ruled that LIV Golf’s financial backer, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, are not entitled to sovereign immunity. In its ongoing lawsuit with PGA Tour, the PIF and Al-Rumayyan had argued they were not under any U.S. court jurisdiction as they were part of a foreign government. More: - The PIF had sought to dismiss a subpoena on the grounds of sovereign immunity.
- Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen, in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, rejected the argument in an order that was made on Feb. 9.
- Van Keulen said PIF and Al-Rumayyan’s conduct falls within the commercial activity exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act.
- The judge also rejected other arguments made by the PIF and Al-Rumayyan to avoid being deposed.
- However, PIF and Al-Rumayyan could be deposed in a place of their choosing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Barnes & Noble announced a $40-a-year membership program that offers members various perks, including 10% discounts, free shipping, a tote bag, and bigger lattes. The book retailer is also offering a free membership program that gives members a virtual stamp for every $10 spent in-store or online. Ten stamps give members a $5 discount on future purchases. More: - The move comes years after Amazon and Walmart launched similar membership programs.
- Barnes & Noble aims to learn more about their customers, what they buy, and how often they buy to pitch them more effectively.
- CEO James Daunt said the new $40 membership program will replace a previous one that cost $25 and offered discounts for purchases made inside Barnes & Noble’s physical stores.
- Barnes & Noble plans to open 30 new physical locations in 2023.
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- Amazon is requiring its corporate employees to spend at least three days a week in the office. The move marks a change in the company's previous policy, which left it up to individual managers to decide how often employees should be in the office.
- TikTok has committed to building two new data centers in Europe in addition to a previously announced one. The video-sharing app said it had 125 million monthly active users in the EU.
- Microsoft has defended its AI-powered Bing search product, saying the upgraded search engine is a work in progress. This comes after testers have raised concerns about the responses the new Bing search engine has been giving.
- Airbnb shares rose nearly 20% this week following its Q4 FY2022 earnings release on Tuesday. This is the company's largest weekly gain since its 2020 IPO. Airbnb gained $15B in market value.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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