UFC owner Endeavor prices IPO at $10 billion valuation

By Alexandra SteigradApril 20, 2021 | 11:18am

Endeavor, which owns just over half of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, aims to sell 21.3 million shares priced at $23 to $24 a share.Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ari Emanuel’s entertainment giant Endeavor said Tuesday that it is hoping to raise $511.2 million in an initial public offering that will value the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based company at more than $10 billion.

Endeavor, which owns just over half of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as well as the Hollywood agency WME and the Miss Universe pageant, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday that it aims to sell 21.3 million shares priced at $23 to $24 a share.

Endeavor said it will also hold a private sale of preferred shares to raise about $1.7 billion in order to buy out the remaining 49.9 percent of UFC that it does not already own.

The Post exclusively reported last month that Endeavor had plans to buy out the lucrative MMA giant behind Octagon bruisers like Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, in order to make its IPO more attractive to investors.

According to sources, Endeavor is kicking off its roadshow on Tuesday, in what will be Endeavor’s second attempt at going public since 2019.

Endeavor declined to comment on the timing of the roadshow.

Emanuel, who is the inspiration for the Ari Gold agent character in HBO’s “Entourage,” scrapped the IPO at the time due to slumping demand as orders came in as low as $20 a share. The company, which had priced its stock to sell at $30 to $32 a share, had already lowered its price range to $26 to $27 a share in advance of the IPO.

At the time, sources said investors were turned off by Endeavor’s unusual mix of assets as well as its hefty $4.6 billion debt load. Investors also griped about the complexities of Endeavor’s tie up with UFC, noting that it would be simpler if the company owned the MMA promotion company outright, sources said.

But since 2019, times have been tough for Endeavor, which relies on movie production and live events such as sports games, concerts and fashion shows, to make money.

According to its registration filing last month, under the crush of the pandemic, Endeavor reported revenue of $3.5 billion for 2020 and a net loss of $625.3 million. minute.

https://nypost.com/2021/04/20/ufc-owner-endeavor-prices-ipo-at-10-billion-valuation/