Media giant Endeavor – home of mixed martial arts, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Hollywood talent agency WME and sports and fashion firm IMG – jumped 12 percent for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
The Ari Emanuel-led firm opened trading at $ 24 a share under the ticker symbol EDR, and its stock initially jumped to $ 26.96 a share before making its profit in midday trading. The stock recently changed hands at $ 23.80 on Thursday.
Hours earlier, Emanuel, who is the inspiration for the Erie Gold agent character in HBO’s “Entourage”, high-fives fellow Endeavor, rang the ceremonial bell to kick off the work day. As reported by The Post, Endeavor raised its IPO price to $ 246 billion valuation from $ 511 million to more than $ 550 million overnight.
The public list marks the end of a long road to Endeavor, which tried and failed to go public in 2019.
At the time, fiery Emanuel landed an IPO when orders came as low as $ 20 per share. The company, which sold its stock price from $ 30 to $ 32 per share, had already lowered its price range from $ 26 to $ 27 before the IPO.
Sources told The Post at the time that a hodge-podge of Endeavor’s assets and a $ 4.6 billion debt burden were responsible for the sinking demand.
This time around, Endeavor decided to sweeten the pot and buy the remaining 49.9 percent stake, which is not in the lucrative UFC, as reported exclusively by The Post in March. The company is in the process of raising about $ 1.7 billion for the purchase, and is banking as a bonanza to spend on sports and live events.
But the company is still licking its wounds from the economic collapse of the virus crisis. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Endeavor reported a net loss of $ 625 million in 2020, while it had a debt weight of approximately $ 5.9 billion.
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