The world's biggest MMA promotion, UFC, may go public later this year and launch an IPO.
An article published by Sportico cited information given by two sources who requested to remain anonymous. The sports news outlet revealed that UFC's parent organization, Endeavor Group Holdings, has filed confidential paperwork for the initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Details of the draft prospectus, like market capitalization sought, the volume and price of shares, are not known. Endeavor has not made an official announcement of the move yet.
Launching the IPO would be a great milestone for UFC after the record $4.02 billion in sales in 2016 and here is everything you need to know about the company's IPO.
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Any of the three owners can demand UFC IPO
Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and MSD Capital, led by WME IMG are primary owners of the UFC.
Starting from August 18, 2021, any of the three owners can exercise a demand right for UFC to go public. However, UFC IPO can only be launched after the Endeavor IPO.
UFC IPO is actually the IPO of its parent company that own many other businesses apart from the promotion
Estimated to have an annual revenue of over $3 billion, UFC's parent company Endeavor Group Holdings is a global entertainment conglomerate.
They also own talent firms such as IMG and Willian Morris and produces movies and events like the Miss Universe pageant.
The paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is for the public offering of Endeavor's shares and not UFC's.
Endeavor first sought IPO in 2019
Endeavor Group Holdings first sought to launch its IPO in 2019. Over 25 percent of Endeavor's value comes from its ownership of UFC.
According to Forbes, despite MMA no longer considered to be a taboo, it is yet to become a mainstream sport. This raised concerns among investors in the growth prospects of Endeavor and the conglomerate later pulled the IPO in September 2019 due to these concerns and market weakness.