UFC president Dana White never proposed for it to occur, however under the ownership of Endeavor Holdings Group, the UFC has become part of a publicly traded organization on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The UFC didn’t go public as a solo entity, however as a feature of the Endeavor conglomerate. Endeavor Group Holdings started trading at $24 per share when the NYSE opened on Thursday, as first detailed by ESPN. White, alongside Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, were all close by at the stock exchange when trading started.
The initial public offering started about a month after Endeavor filed an S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission with its goal to start public trading. The S-1 filing noticed that Endeavor had entered into an agreement to up its ownership stake in the UFC from 50.1 percent to 100%.
That wasn’t a very remarkable shock after Endeavor uncovered that the UFC joined with Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and Euroleague Basketball represented 20% of Endeavor’s 2019 income. The UFC was additionally one of the first sports leagues to continue a regular schedule of events all through the vast majority of the pandemic.
“As challenging a year as 2020 was, it underscored the strength, creativity, and resilience of our people who mobilized time and time again in the face of overwhelming odds. We made difficult decisions but worked as a team to find creative solutions and best position the business for the future,” Emanuel said in the S-1 filing.
“As the global pandemic unfolded, we developed the protocols necessary to help our businesses safely restart operations, providing a model for other professional sports, events, and programs. 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. In the fall, we brought New York Fashion Week to life, becoming one of the first major events to resume in New York City.”
