Endeavor Shares Pop 5% in NYSE Debut

Ben Bergman

Ben Bergman is the newsroom's senior finance reporter. Previously he was a senior business reporter and host at KPCC, a senior producer at Gimlet Media, a producer at NPR's Morning Edition, and produced two investigative documentaries for KCET. He has been a frequent on-air contributor to business coverage on NPR and Marketplace and has written for The New York Times and Columbia Journalism Review. Ben was a 2017-2018 Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economic and Business Journalism at Columbia Business School. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, playing poker, and cheering on The Seattle Seahawks.

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The second time was the charm for superagent-turned-mogul Ari Emanuel.

After facing the embarrassment of being forced to pull the initial public offering for Endeavor Group Holdings at the 11th hour in 2019, shares of his entertainment and live events conglomerate debuted Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange with a 5% gain.


Endeavor includes the venerable William Morris Agency and the sports and modeling agency IMG as well as live events as varied as the Professional Bull Riders tour and Miss Universe. Most appealing to investors, the firm is in the process of acquiring 100% of the mixed-martial-arts league UFC, which experienced considerable growth during the pandemic.

Endeavor's leaders Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, as well as UFC president Dana White, all appeared at the NYSE Thursday morning wearing black masks. Soon after, Endeavor stock began trading at $24 per share, which was the upper end of where it was priced.

With many live events cancelled, Endeavor brought in just $3.5 billion in revenue in 2020, resulting in a net loss of $625.3 million. In pre-pandemic 2019, it brought in $4.6 billion in revenue and recorded a net loss of $530.7 million.

But that did not scare off billionaire tech titans Larry Ellison and Michael Dell, who bought shares in the company, or Elon Musk, who joined the board of directors.

Endeavor was co-founded by Emanuel when he broke away from ICM in 1995. It merged with William Morris Agency in 2009, acquired IMG in 2014, and a stake in UFC in 2016.

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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This Week in ‘Raises’: GITAI Lands $30M, Steno Gains $15M

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

The funding will be used to further develop Gitai’s suite of space robots as well as build out its manufacturing footprint in Torrance. Previously Gitai announced it raised a $17.1 million Series B in March 2021; this additional raise is still part of that round.

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