UFC President Dana White has revealed under the ownership of Endeavor Holdings Group, UFC became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to ESPN, The UFC didn’t go public as a solo entity, but as part of conglomerate Endeavor. Endeavor Group Holdings began trading at $ 24 a share when the NYSE opened on Thursday.
White, along with Endeavor founders Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, are all on the exchange when trading began.
The initial public offering began about a month after Endeavor filed an S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission with its intention to start public trading. The S-1 file noted that Endeavor had struck a deal to increase his stake in the UFC from 50.1% to 100%.
It wasn’t much of a surprise after Endeavor revealed that the UFC combined with Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and Euroleague Basketball accounted for 20% of Endeavor’s earnings in 2019. UFC was also one of the first sports leagues to resume a regular schedule of events during most of the pandemic.
“As difficult as the year 2020 is, it demonstrated the strength, creativity and resilience of our employees who have stepped up time and again in the face of overwhelming obstacles.We made tough decisions, but worked as a team to find creative solutions and best position the company for the future,” Emanuel said.
“As the global pandemic unfolded, we developed the necessary protocols to help our businesses restart operations safely, providing a model for other sports, events and professional programs.
“The UFC and PBR were two of the first sports organizations to responsibly return last spring, and we followed up this summer by hosting the WNBA season at IMG Academy. In the fall, we brought New York Fashion Week to life, becoming one of the first major events to resume in New York.” Emanuel added.
