Endeavor wins IPO and cancels Friday launch plan – Deadline

(UPDATE WITH WGA statement) Endeavor's planned IPO, scheduled for launch on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, has been withdrawn, Deadline confirmed. The company, which according to some sources still plans to become public, has no timetable for a postponed launch, but we have learned that this will not happen until the end of 2019.

"Endeavor will continue to evaluate the timing of the proposed offer according to changing market conditions," said a company spokeswoman at Deadline on Thursday.

The news comes from the insecurity in the IPO market, as evidenced by the tumultuous beginnings of Uber, Lyft and today the fitness company Peloton, which lost 11% at its first trading session. According to some sources, after this performance, Endeavor's key players feared that the company would be undervalued.

Earlier in the day, Endeavor Group Holdings had lowered the price of its IPO from $ 30 to $ 32 to $ 26 to $ 27, according to a document filed by the SEC, which also revealed that the initial offer would relate to 15 million shares, against 19.4 million originally planned.

The original plan was to raise up to $ 712 million through the IPO, although the lower targets suggest a significant reduction in the goal.

Today, near the eleventh hour of publication, Endeavor has changed IPOs in recent months. At the last opportunity, reports have been reported in recent days, suggesting that demand for the stock has been lower than expected. In this environment, after announcing today the launch of their initial public offering less than a week ago, the Endeavor, often at the same time cranked, was locked in a period of mandatory silence before the offer.

After the SEC's paperwork earlier in the day and the Peloton facial treatment plant, Endeavor's top players and their financial advisors crammed themselves to decide to end the potentially lucrative situation. "It was not an easy or desirable decision to date," said an insider about the mid-afternoon move. "However, as messy as it may seem at the moment, it was strategic as opposed to tactical and aimed at ensuring a better outcome at the right time," he added.

The cancellation of the IPO has been reported for the first time by the the Wall Street newspaper.

Under the leadership of CEO Ari Emanuel and executive chairman Patrick Whitesell, Endeavor is more than just a talent management problem on Wall Street. With the significant financial backing of minority investors Silver Lake Partners and Softbank in recent years, Endeavor has acquired the UFC, the IMG fashion and sports management company, the Professional Bull Riders and various other assets, such as live events on a large scale.

More controversial, since it still operates the largest talent agency WME, the company has also strengthened its production activity through its branch Endeavor Content. The Writers Guild of America and other critics have criticized the application of the content, claiming that the company was trading against itself to the detriment of its customers. While the Guild encouraged its members to leave their agents and many lawsuits for packaging and other litigation were brought to court, the WGA became a very active opponent of the initial public offering for the proposed savings. .

"The information that the IPO of Endeavor has been withdrawn shows that investors did not buy the company's conflicting business practices," the Guild said Thursday in a surprisingly succinct statement. and binding.