For several months, reports have been circulating that the UFC’ s parent company Endeavor would be taking their company public. Now that has become official, with stocks now available for purchase.
Without a doubt, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been one of the driving forces of income for Endeavor over the last year and a half. Reports have clearly indicated that the MMA promotion’s ability to keep working has been crucial for the entertainment brand through the pandemic, leading to their acquiring of the entirety of ownership in the promotion.
Nevertheless it was noteworthy to hear that there were talks about the company going public, with an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This was something that they looked at doing last year, but pulled the plug on the plans at the last minute.
UFC Now Becomes A Publicly Traded Company
As of Thursday, April 29th, the UFC is now a publicly traded company. This news comes as the Endeavor IPO becomes official, as the company has begun trading today, in the New York Stock Exchange.
This announcement was made with an Instagram post from President Dana White, who could not contain his excitement at the news. It was only confirmation of news that was already expected, but still wild to say the least.
“It’s official the UFC is now a public company #EndeavorIPO” White wrote.
The Endeavor IPO is traded under the ticker symbol EDR. There are 21.3 million stocks available for purchase, with the price currently set at $24 per share, falling in line with the projected price at the start of the IPO.
Cryptocurrency and NFTs Incoming?
This was not the only big piece of UFC financial news to come out this week. In addition to them joining the stock exchange, it seems that the promotion is also looking to dip their toes into the water of cryptocurrency.
According to reports, the promotion has also started the trademark filing process for a branded cryptocurrency. In addition to that, they also filed for an app where users can manage their crypto, as well as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
“The UFC has filed several new trademark applications indicating it has plans to launch:
1. A UFC-branded cryptocurrency.
2. An app for users to manage cryptocurrency and NFTs.
The filings were just made with the USPTO on April 23rd.”
The UFC has filed several new trademark applications indicating it has plans to launch:
1. A UFC-branded cryptocurrency.
2. An app for users to manage cryptocurrency and NFTs.
The filings were just made with the USPTO on April 23rd.#ufc pic.twitter.com/DKfumXWfqP
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) April 28, 2021
It is crazy to think about how far the UFC has come to this point. Nobody would have believed you if you said that the same company that was hemorrhaging money 20 years ago is now a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.
