The US stock market welcomes another "super IPO"! Ticketing platform StubHub makes a strong debut with a market value expected to reach $9.2 billion

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the American ticket sales platform StubHub Holdings Inc plans to raise up to $851 million through an initial public offering (IPO). According to documents submitted by the company to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, this New York-based company plans to issue approximately 34 million shares, with a pricing range of $22 to $25 per share. At the upper limit of the range, based on the circulating capital listed in the documents, StubHub's market value will be approximately $9.2 billion, making it another super IPO following AI cloud computing leader CoreWeave, the "first stock of stablecoins" Circle, and the emerging cryptocurrency force Bullish.

The latest documents show that StubHub recorded a net loss of $76 million in the six months ending June 30, with total revenue of approximately $827.9 million; while the net loss for the same period in 2024 was approximately $24 million, with revenue of about $803.5 million.

In early April, after the Trump administration announced widespread tariffs globally, leading to severe turmoil in global stock markets, the ticketing company operating StubHub and Viagogo was one of the large enterprises that paused its plans for an IPO in the U.S. stock market.

The global IPO market has clearly rebounded, especially the U.S. IPO market, which is expected to continue its hot momentum in the near term and is likely to welcome the busiest week for U.S. stock market listings this year. According to data compiled by institutions, excluding closed-end funds and other financial instruments, U.S. initial public offerings (IPOs) have raised $24.4 billion this year, significantly higher than the $20.4 billion in the same period last year.

The latest documents show that StubHub's Gross Merchandise Sales (the total amount paid by ticket buyers, including fees and payments to sellers) rose to $4.4 billion in the six months ending June 30, up from $3.9 billion in the same period last year.

The documents state that last year the company handled ticket sales for concerts and other events held in over 90 countries and regions for more than 1 million independent sellers.

At least since 2022, the company has sought to go public on the U.S. stock market through a direct listing, when its valuation could exceed $13 billion. Insiders indicated that the company attempted to go public last year, driven by the sales surge from Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour," but postponed its listing plans shortly after submitting documents due to unfavorable market conditions.

The documents show that the company's Gross Merchandise Sales are expected to grow by 27% year-on-year in 2024; excluding the impact of the Taylor Swift tour, the growth would be 29%.

CEO Eric Baker is one of the co-founders of StubHub, having left the company before it was sold to eBay Inc. for $310 million in 2007. Baker later founded Viagogo in Europe. In 2019, Viagogo agreed to acquire StubHub for $4.05 billion. The transaction was completed the following year, and the merged company continues to operate under the two major brands Documents show that Baker holds nearly 5% of Class A shares; prior to this offering, with Class B shares that have 100 votes per share, his voting power in the company is slightly below 90%.

Madrone Partners LP holds a 24.5% stake in the business, with 2.7% voting power before the IPO; WestCap Management holds a 12.3% stake; Bessemer Venture Partners holds 8.8%. Madrone and Bessemer have seats on the company's board of directors.

This issuance is led by JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, with more than 10 other banks participating. The company plans to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange, with the ticker symbol proposed as "STUB".

The core business of the global secondary ticket market platform StubHub is to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers for live entertainment tickets such as sports events, concerts, and theater, charging fees/commissions on transactions. Its business was formed by the merger of StubHub and viagogo, with the group headquartered in New York, profiting by connecting buyers and sellers, ensuring fulfillment, and charging platform fees