At the top of the range IPO price, StubHub would have a market value of about US$9.2bil based on the outstanding shares listed in its filing. — Bloomberg
NEW YORK: Ticket selling platform StubHub Holdings Inc is seeking to raise as much as US$851mil in an initial public offering (IPO).
The New York-based company plans to offer about 34 million shares for US$22 to US$25 each, according to its filing on Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
At the top of the range, StubHub would have a market value of about US$9.2bil based on the outstanding shares listed in its filing.
StubHub had a net loss of US$76mil on revenue of US$827.9mil in the six months ended June 30, versus a net loss of US$24mil on revenue of US$803.5mil in the same period in 2024, the filing showed.
The operator of platforms StubHub and Viagogo was among the companies choosing to pause their IPO plans, Bloomberg News reported in April, after the US announced wide-ranging tariffs that sent the stock market into a tailspin.
The IPO market has bounced back, and is poised to continue a hot streak of recent activity with what could be the busiest week of the year for US listings.
First-time share sales have already raised US$24.4bil this year, excluding closed-end funds and other financial vehicles, comfortably ahead of the US$20.4bil raised in the same period last year.
StubHub’s gross merchandise sales, representing the total value paid by ticket buyers, including fees and proceeds to sellers, rose to US$4.4bil in the six months ended June 30, above the US$3.9bil in the same period last year, the filing showed.
Last year, the company handled ticket sales for over a million unique sellers for events held in more than 90 countries and territories, according to the filing.
StubHub has pursued going public since at least 2022 via a direct listing that might have valued it at more than US$13bil, Bloomberg News reported at the time.
The company attempted to go public last year after sales boomed from Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, before postponing the plans shortly after filing, citing unfavourable market conditions, a person familiar with the matter said.
Chief executive officer Eric Baker, one of StubHub’s co-founders, left before the business was sold in 2007 to eBay Inc for US$310mil.
Baker later founded Viagogo in Europe. In 2019, Viagogo agreed to acquire StubHub for US$4.05bil.
The deal was completed the following year, with the combined company continuing to do business under both names.
Baker holds nearly 5% of the Class A shares and, with his Class B shares that carry 100 votes each, has just under 90% of the voting power in the company before the offering, the filing showed.
Madrone Partners LP has a 24.5% stake in the business and 2.7% of the voting power before the IPO, while WestCap Management owns a 12.3% stake and Bessemer Venture Partners holds 8.8%. Madrone and Bessemer have board seats at the company.
The offering is being led by JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, along with more than 10 other banks.
The company plans for its shares to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol STUB. — Bloomberg
