Talent agency Endeavor plans to raise up to $712M in IPO

By Alexandra SteigradSeptember 16, 2019 | 10:28pm

Ari Emanuel speaks onstage during the 2017 LACMA Art + Film Gala.
Ari EmanuelGetty Images for LACMA

Endeavor, which owns Hollywood’s biggest talent agency and mixed martial arts entertainment giant Ultimate Fighting Championship, plans to raise as much as $712 million in an initial public offering, it said Monday.

The offering will value Endeavor, which also owns the Miss Universe Pageant, at about $8 billion, the company said.

The entertainment company, led by Hollywood super agent Ari Emanuel and Executive Chairman Patrick Whitesell, estimates that it will offer 19.3 million shares at a price range of $30 to $32 a share, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Emanuel — the inspiration for Ari Gold, the hard charging, ruthless and relentless main character of HBO’s “Entourage” — represents some of Hollywood’s biggest stars through WME, including Oprah, Adele, Dwayne Johnson, Rihanna, Drake, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Christian Bale.

Depending on the final price of the stock, Endeavor’s IPO is expected to value the company at between $7.9 billion and $8.3 billion, with a mid-range price of just above $8 billion, the filing said.

Endeavor, which owns talent agency WME, first filed for an IPO in May.

The IPO was originally scheduled for summer, but it was shifted to the fall as the firm was reviewing a deal to buy hospitality and live-events company OnLocation Experiences for as much as $700 million, according to reports. Endeavor declined to comment on the timing of the potential acquisition.

The Beverly Hills company reported $551 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization last year.

For the six months ended June 30, it posted revenue of $2.1 billion, up from $1.5 billion in the year-ago period, the filing said.

The company’s losses for the six-month period shrank to $192.6 million from $404.5 million.

Endeavor plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticket symbol “EDR.”

https://nypost.com/2019/09/16/talent-agency-endeavor-plans-to-raise-up-to-712m-in-ipo/