Online ticket resale platform StubHub is considering going public as soon as this summer if it can secure a valuation of more than $16 billion, according to media reports.
The information reported for the first time on Friday (April 12) that StubHub is targeting a valuation of $16.5 billion, or the valuation it received in 2021 in the company's latest fundraising round, and is working with JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs on the potential IPO.
StubHub's valuation may be closer to $8 billion based on the value of similar, albeit smaller, rivals such as VividSeats, the article said. Moody's estimates that StubHub has $2 billion in debt, a figure that is seven times its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), according to The information.
StubHub, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs did not respond to requests for comment on the likely timing of an IPO.
StubHub, founded in 2000, was sold to eBay in 2007 for $310 million. In late 2019, its smaller rival Viagogo bought the ticketing business from eBay for $4.05 billion in a mix of cash and debt deal that was finalized months before the COVID-19 pandemic caused mass event cancellations.
StubHub temporarily cut its staff by two-thirds in March 2020 as it and other ticket resale companies faced a sharp decline in revenue and refund requests from customers.
In recent months, StubHub, Vivid Seat and other third-party ticketing sites have come under fire from lawmakers in several US states who want to crack down on bots and ticket resellers, whom they accuse of jacking up prices. StubHub said it supports banning deceptive and speculative ticket sales.
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