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UFC parent company Endeavor has killed its initial public offering, for the second time.
Trading was expected to begin today, but orders came in as low as $20 per share, which would give the company a market cap of $4.9 billion. A 2017 funding round garnered $32 a share, giving the company a value of $8 billion. The drop would also be reflected in CEO Ari Emanuel’s net worth. Ari, who inspired the Ari Gold character on HBO’s “Entourage” TV show, holds 39.6 million Endeavor shares, together with executive chairman Patrick Whitesell. The worth of those shares at $20 per share is about $800 million, nearly $500 million less than they were valued in 2017.
Further, Emmanuel watched Peloton's stock drop 11% in its stock debut on Thursday.
“[Emanuel] made it clear the IPO was undervaluing the company,” said a source, as quoted by Wellston Journal. There will be no further Endeavor IPO attempts until at least next year.
Endeavor also pulled a planned IPO in late September, again the day before, again amidst concerns that investors were cool on the stock and given the weakening of the broader IPO market.