Endeavor jumps 5% on debut after raising $511m in IPO

The shares, which sold for $24 each in the IPO and rose as much as 19% Thursday, closed at $25.20

Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., the Hollywood entertainment and talent company, jumped 5% in its trading debut after raising $511 million in a U.S. initial public offering (IPO).

The shares, which sold for $24 each in the IPO and rose as much as 19% Thursday, closed at $25.20.

Endeavor’s shares are trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EDR.

The successful offering delivers a movie-style redemption ending for Endeavor and its leader, the veteran mogul Ari Emanuel, after an earlier attempt to go public was scuttled in 2019.

The bottom fell out of the market, you had the WeWork debacle back then, and we weren’t getting the economics we deserved, Emanuel said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

He said Endeavor is well positioned as the entertainment industry comes back to life after coronavirus pandemic shutdowns. We touch all the areas of where the world is going right now, Emanuel said of the company’s streaming, arts, fashion, sports and music offerings.

Endeavor also is raising $1.8 billion from institutional investors in a private placement of shares, according the company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Investors participating in the placement include KKR & Co., Coatue Management, Elliott Investment Management and Endeavor’s longtime backer Silver Lake, the company said in filings.

Endeavor owns the UFC sports league, and operates events and talent businesses. It will use part of the proceeds from the IPO and private placement to buy shares from UFC holders.

The company will have five classes of stock and Emanuel will have 17% of the voting power after the offering. Silver Lake will control more than 68% of the voting power, Endeavor said.

On a pro forma basis, Endeavor had a net loss of nearly $992 million on revenue of $3.48 billion in 2020, according to its filings.