UFC parent company launches IPO

The company that owns a majority of the UFC launched its initial public offering Thursday.

Endeavor Group Holdings, which also owns talent agencies WME and IMG, the Professional Bull Riders rodeo circuit and the Miss Universe Pageant,went public with an initial offering of 21.3 million shares of Class A common stock at $24 per share.

At the end of day Friday Endeavor stock was up 8.3 percent to $27.56 per share.

The IPO launch was detailed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated March 31, which included the company’s plan to purchase the remaining share of the UFC it didn’t already own.

The Beverly Hills, California-based company purchased a minority stake in the UFC in 2016 for $4 billion from Zuffa LLC, founded by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.

UFC mainstay Dana White, who at the time was believed to have owned a 9 percent stake, continued in his role as president following the 2016 sale. According to the SEC filing, Endeavor and UFC stakeholders agreed on Feb. 16 for Endeavor to purchase the remaining 49.9 percent of the UFC it did not acquire in 2016. The filing did not give a value for the deal.

In the company’s filing, Endeavor’s CEO Ariel Emanuel noted its professional sports groups were among the first to return to competition early in the pandemic last year and cited their value to the company’s portfolio.

“UFC and PBR were two of the first sports organizations to responsibly return last spring, and we followed in the summer by hosting the WNBA’s season at IMG Academy,” a letter from Emanuel included in the SEC filing said.

IMG Academy is a Florida-based sports training facility that Endeavor owns.

Endeavor shares will trade under the symbol EDR.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.