Endeavor Seeking Second Chance at Public Offering

In Hollywood, they say, everyone loves a comeback. That would seem to be the hope at entertainment conglomerate Endeavor, which is seeking a new public offering after a last-minute scrap in 2019.

The parent owner of Ultimate Fighting Championship and talent agencies WME and IMG is in the process of planning a new IPO, Variety‘s sister site Sportico reported on Thursday. The company has filed confidential paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the report said.

The SEC’s website did not reflect any filing at press time. A spokesperson for Endeavor declined to comment on the matter.

Run by industry veterans Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, Endeavor previously attempted a public offering two years ago, dashed in the 11th hour after facing lukewarm investor response and a volatile market. While the entertainment and media sector was ravaged by the global pandemic in 2020, a 2019 prospectus reflected a reported $3 billion in revenue from Endeavor, largely thanks to its representation business and multi-faceted sales interests in the NFL, NHL and International Olympic Committee, per Sportico.

The past year has been full of historic headaches for Endeavor and the other major Hollywood agencies, enacting workforce reductions and office closures amid the pandemic. In early February, WME became the last of the big four talent shops to resolve a bitter feud with the Writers Guild of America, which saw literary clients fire their agents as they waited for the institutions to comply with revised conduct standards around packaging fees.

“Endeavor will continue to evaluate the timing for the proposed offering as market conditions develop,” a spokesperson for Endeavor said in 2019.

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