March 25, 2001: When a bidder had trouble wrestling up the funding to buy World Championship Wrestling, media giant Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) turned to WCW's chief rival, World Wrestling Federation -- now known as World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE) -- to unload the noncore asset.
As Time Warner was preparing for its megamerger with AOL LLC, it had put some assets on review. After reportedly receiving unsolicited bids for WCW in the past, the media giant put the asset in the ring -- thereby ending a 13-year relationship between WCW and Ted Turner, who had become chairman of Time Warner after the 1996 purchase of Turner Broadcasting.
Time Warner agreed to sell the asset to former WCW executive Eric Bischoff's Fusient Media Ventures in January 2001. However, Bischoff failed to secure financing, and Time Warner put the asset back on the block. Ultimately, Vince McMahon's wrestling juggernaut seized the day and took out its most prominent rival. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. - Matthew Wurtzel
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