The long-awaited StubHub IPO is reportedly being delayed until at least September. Photo Credit: Sophie Backes
Originally expected to arrive this summer, the long-awaited $16.5 billion StubHub IPO has reportedly been delayed.
That’s according to outlets including the Wall Street Journal, which cited anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter. At the time of this writing, the ticketing platform itself didn’t appear to have addressed the subject publicly.
But the massive offering is reportedly set to launch no sooner than Labor Day, which falls on September 2nd. However, the mentioned sources have emphasized that the StubHub IPO could remain on ice beyond that date.
At the top level, concerns around the broader market (and in particular IPOs) are undoubtedly factoring into the decision. Meanwhile, reports have pointed to softer consumer demand in general – including, despite the continued success of some residencies and concert series, shelved tours and festivals.
Additionally, prominent festivals like Coachella have experienced well-documented sales slowdowns. Though Live Nation is presumably still banking on a record 2024, it’s unclear how exactly the described live-sector turbulence is affecting smaller players.
According to the Journal, StubHub’s last-released audited financials will go “stale” in August – meaning that the business is already compelled to post more recent earnings before formally spearheading the IPO.
Then there’s the much-publicized Justice Department antitrust suit against Live Nation, the quick-approaching presidential election, inherent rate uncertainty, and the fact that StubHub’s public-market ambitions are far from new. Stated bluntly, there have been rumblings of StubHub’s listing for years now; a few months’ delay doesn’t appear too big a deal in the grand scheme of things.
With all that said, it’s not as if the wider crowd-based entertainment sphere is short on capital or investor enthusiasm. On Monday, we covered competing ticketing platform Dice’s rumored exploration of a sale that would value it at hundreds of millions of dollars. Just as noteworthy as the price tag are the bids that the company has reportedly received from multiple private equity firms.
Also underscoring the space’s perceived opportunities are CTS Eventim’s purchase of See Tickets’ international operations (as well as several festivals to boot) from Vivendi and, in Europe once again, KKR’s reportedly $1.7 billion buyout of Superstruct.
Regarding what to keep an eye out for moving forward, it will, of course, be interesting to see whether Dice actually sells and whether the StubHub IPO comes to fruition in September. More immediately, Live Nation this week confirmed plans to release its second-quarter financials on July 30th.
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