Endeavor, the international entertainment and sports giant, has posted revenue of $1.4 billion for the second quarter (Q2) of the year boosted by the sale of its IMG Academy subsidiary.
The sale to private equity group EQT, which was originally agreed in April, was completed in late June and valued at $1.25 billion.
Endeavor saw increases in revenue across all four of its business units.
Revenue for the sports segment was $340.1 million for the quarter, up $8.2 million, or 2.5%, compared to the same period in 2022.
This was attributed to higher live event revenue from having two more events in the current year with live audiences, higher media rights fees and sponsorships, and an increase in commercial pay-per-view, all through the UFC mixed martial arts promotion.
Endeavor's events, experiences, and rights division posted revenue of $591.1 million for the quarter, up $23.3 million, or 4.1%, from the prior year.
The rise was driven by new media production deals, including with Major League Soccer, income from the Madrid Open tennis tournament, and growth at IMG Academy, as well as entertainment company Barrett-Jackson, which was acquired in August 2022.
Income from Endeavor’s representation business came in at $381.1 million for the quarter, up $23.2 million, or 6.5%, from last year.
The increase was primarily attributable to the delivery of projects in Endeavor’s non-scripted content production business, as well as increases across its fashion business and new projects and increased spend from the 160over90 agency’s corporate clients.
The firm’s sports data and technology division posted the biggest uplift with $130.6 million in revenue, up $70.2 million, or 116.3%.
The increase was driven by the addition of sports betting technology platform OpenBet, which was acquired in September 2022, as well as growth at IMG Arena, the betting arm of the international sports and entertainment giant.
For Q2, Endeavor’s net income came in at $666.5 million while adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was $304.9 million.
The transaction for TKO Group Holdings, the new publicly listed company that will merge the UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment promotions, is expected to close in September.
The merged entity will create a sports entertainment heavyweight with a value of $21.4 billion.
In connection with the IMG Academy sale, Endeavor will commence an event-driven share repurchase of up to $300 million and pay down $50 million extra in debt. It also plans to begin making quarterly cash dividend payments.
Endeavor chief executive Ariel Emanuel said: “We delivered solid results this quarter at Endeavor and are closing in on the launch of TKO Group Holdings. Our share repurchase plan and dividend payment initiatives will begin in the third quarter, and we remain focused on maintaining prudent capital allocation and delivering long-term sustainable growth for the company.”
In Q1, Endeavor posted revenue of $1.6 billion, while net income came in at $36.3 million while EBITDA was $306.4 million.
