Hollywood super agent Ari Emanuel’s entertainment group Endeavor closed its first day of business as a public company on Thursday, The Post has learned.
The Hollywood talent agency WME, the company behind Mixed Martial Arts, the Juggernaut Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Miss Universe competition, is listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time under the ticker symbol “EDR”.
Last week, Endeavor said it was looking to raise $ 511.2 million by selling 21.3 million shares at a price of $ 23.3 per share to a Beverly Hills, California-based company valued at more than $ 10 billion.
A source with knowledge of the plan said the company is on track to meet its goals.
This means Endeavor will raise less than $ 712 million during its first IPO attempt in 2019. Its earlier IPO plan, which would cost around $ 6.5 billion, was scrapped after it received a share offer. Lukewarm response from Wall Street.
Sources said the company’s founders are expected to ring the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, including chief executive Emanuel, executive chairman Patrick Whitsell and president Mark Shapiro.
While such an event would generally increase enthusiasm among people, insiders told the Post that employees are “concerned” about Endeavor’s IPO pricing as the company’s previous failed attempts to make it public.
Employees are also nervous because they do not know how many shares they are getting. A source said that the equity award to employees will depend on a number of factors, including today’s value, dilution and the ratio of UFC stock.
As reported exclusively by The Post in March, the company’s IPO plan includes buying the remaining 49.9 percent attractive MMA giant behind Octagon Brewers, such as Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, to make its IP more attractive to investors . The company said the purchase would be funded by a private sale of preferred shares to raise $ 1.7 billion.
Amnew, who is the inspiration for the Erie Gold agent character in HBO’s “Entourage”, pulled the 2019 IPO, as orders came in 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.
Orphaned IPO – which was targeted to raise more than $ 600 million this fall – Endeavor’s talent agent, who lives and dies for bonuses that can earn up to 70% of their total compensation.
Many agents were accepting stock options in exchange for small bonuses with the promise of a larger payday. Employees contrived that Emanuel and Whitsell were able to thwart the failure because, according to the raid that emerged during the IPO process, they had sold a bunch of their shares to WI Investment Holdings for $ 165 million – an entity mostly silver. Allied companies had. Lake and WME Holdco – Back in 2017.
Once the epidemic spread, the company further upset WME agents by planning to buy back the stock, as the company had to scramble to eliminate the cash. To stay ahead, Endeavor, which relies on live events, Hollywood production and media rights deals, sold a total of $ 260 million in debt and a total of about $ 80 million, including a stake in Fortnite producer Epic Games. It also sold small investments and created a massive cost-cutting scheme, resulting in thousands of layoffs.
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