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Endeavor Group Holdings, the talent agency and sports company run by Ari Emanuel, said Wednesday it would explore strategic alternatives, which could mean a possible sale or potentially going private again after two and a half years on public markets.
Indeed, soon after Endeavor’s announcement, major shareholder Silver Lake said it is considering taking the corporate private. Such a move can be a swift turnaround for Endeavor, whose shares went public in April 2021 after some hiccups.
“Silver Lake firmly believes in Endeavor’s business and just isn’t taken with selling its shares in Endeavor to a third-party nor in entertaining bids for assets which are an element of Endeavor,” Silver Lake said in a news release, noting that it owns about 71% of the voting power for Endeavor.
Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban and Managing Director Stephen Evans are members of Endeavor’s board of directors.
Endeavor’s stock jumped greater than 22% in premarket trading Thursday.
“Given the continued dislocation between Endeavor’s public market value and the intrinsic value of Endeavor’s underlying assets, we imagine an evaluation of strategic alternatives is a prudent approach to make sure we’re maximizing value for our shareholders,” Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, said in a news release.
The move comes weeks after French billionaire Francois-Henry Pinault agreed to purchase a majority stake in Endeavor rival Creative Artists Agency. The deal was reportedly price $7 billion.
Endeavor’s market value, likewise, was $7.79 billion as of Wednesday’s market close, having declined 21% to this point this yr.
Notably, Endeavor said it would not consider unloading its interest in TKO Group Holdings, the newly formed combat sports company that features Vince McMahon’s WWE and Dana White’s UFC. Endeavor owns 51% of TKO, which began trading on the Latest York Stock Exchange last month.
–CNBC’s Alex Sherman contributed to this report.