WWE and Panini are close to a settlement.
A new court document has revealed that WWE and Panini exchanged settlement proposals and an agreement in principle was reached.
Nick Khan (CEO, WWE) Mark Warsop (CEO, Panini America) and Elisabetta Mussini (Group Licensing Director, Panini S.p.A.) met to discuss a settlement.
Potential BIG update in the Panini/WWE lawsuit.
— Paul Lesko (@Paul_Lesko) November 15, 2023
In a letter to the court, the parties note that "discussions between the parties and their counsel have resulted in an agreement in principle. The parties are in the process of memorializing that agreement in a signed writing." pic.twitter.com/4is99RyFdQ
In the case, Panini allegedly told WWE in 2022 that they were planning to merge with Fanatics. In Spring 2023, that deal fell apart, which in turn led to more than 35 employees resigning from Panini. Many of those employees allegedly worked on WWE-related products.
WWE also alleges that Panini ran behind on inventory, while also failing to provide purchase orders and respond to routine requests from WWE.
In September, WWE alleged that Panini failed to uphold their end of the contract, as they failed to create trading card games or digital trading cards. WWE stated that they were entitled to terminate the deal with Panini on August 25, 2023, which they did.
Fightful will update fans on the case as more is known.
