The Miss Universe pageant’s parent company, Endeavor (formerly known as WME|IMG) is in a financial quandary.
Here’s how to make sense of all of these financial woes…
THE FACTS
COMPANY NAME: Endeavor Group Holdings, formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME or WME-IMG)
– Endeavor also leads a group which owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship and owns the Miss Universe pageant. It is headed by CEO Ari Emanuel and executive chairman Patrick Whitesell.
INDUSTRY: Entertainment Industry (talent management, live entertainment, sports, etc…)
FOUNDED:
– William Morris Agency was founded in New York in 1898.
– The Endeavor Talent Agency was launched in 1995.
– WMA and the Endeavor Talent Agency announced that they were forming William Morris Endeavor in 2009.
– WME and Silver Lake announced the acquisition of IMG for $2.4 billion in 2013.
– WME-IMG reorganized in October 2017 with the parent company being renamed from WME-IMG to Endeavor.
PRIMARY HEADQUARTERS: 9601 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California 90210, United States
OWNERSHIP STATUS: Privately Held (backing)
FINANCING STATUS: Private Equity-Backed
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: estimated between 5,000 to 10,000
NOTES ON FINANCES: Endeavor’s revenue was $3.61 billion in 2018 with a net income of $100.1 million after adjustments. Recent filings as of 2018-2019, the company is saddled with $4.6 billion of long-term debt, with total liabilities of $7.2 billion and $830.9 million in cash assets.
THE TIMELINE
In December 18, 2013, WME announced the acquisition of IMG for $2.4 billion. The following years to come between 2015 to 2016, the company acquired several sports-related companies and events like the Professional Bull Riders, Ultimate Fighting Championship, as well as literary agency Rabineau Wachter Sanford & Gillett and the Miss Universe pageant.
May 24, 2019 – Endeavor Group files for IPO (Initial Public Offering). An initial public offering (IPO) refers to the process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public in a new stock issuance.
September 26, 2019 – Endeavor cancelled its planned IPO that was set for September 27. The cancellation was due to weak IPO demand.
March 25, 2020 – the company laid off around 250 staff as the sports and film industries continue to be on shut down amid the global spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
April 2020 – S&P Global Inc. dropped its credit ratings for WME|IMG and Endeavor.
– Endeavor is cutting, furloughing, or slashing the pay of one-third of its approximately 7,500 employees
– The pay reductions will proportionately increase according to base salary, from 5% to 30%.
– CEO Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, Endeavor’s executive chairman, are to give up the remainder of their 2020 salaries.
April 27, 2020 – Endeavor decided to cut about one-third of its staff.
May 7, 2020 – WME announced that it would lay off or furlough roughly 20% of its work force.
May 11, 2020 – Moody’s Investors Service Inc. downgraded its outlook for Beverly Hills-based WME IMG Holdings to negative from stable, and lowered the company’s credit rating.
Related articles on this topic:
– IMG|WME in Financial Trouble, Miss Universe Pageant Survival in Question
– How Much is the Miss Universe Pageant Worth?
SOURCES:
* https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/53004-70
* https://nypost.com/2019/05/23/endeavor-group-owner-of-miss-universe-pageant-and-ufc-files-for-ipo/
* https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2020/may/01/endeavor-credit-rating-gets-another-downgrade/
* https://www.wsj.com/articles/endeavor-plans-coronavirus-driven-staffing-cuts-11587581112
* https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/endeavor-lays-off-250-staff-with-more-cuts-to-come/
* https://variety.com/2020/film/news/wme-endeavor-layoffs-1234586781/
* https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/23/endeavor-cuts-furloughs-slashes-employees/
* https://fortune.com/2020/05/13/endeavor-reports-of-our-demise-are-greatly-exaggerated/
* https://nypost.com/2019/09/26/ari-emanuels-entertainment-company-is-pulling-its-ipo/
* https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/endeavor-pay-cuts-ari-emanuel-patrick-whitesell-1203551733/
* https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2019-09-26/endeavor-lowers-it-ipo-price-range-ahead-of-its-market-debut
