StubHub Holdings Inc., the company co-founded by 51-year-old CEO Eric Baker, is set for a public listing of shares, with Baker holding 5.2% of Class A shares and over 90% of voting power. The move aims to raise funds to reduce debt and invest in the business. StubHub generated $299 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization on sales of $1.77 billion last year, with more than 40 million tickets sold in 2024.
Baker’s stake in the company dates back to its founding in 2000, when he started the business with Jeff Fluhr after struggling to find affordable concert tickets for a Broadway show. The idea behind StubHub was to bring resale of concert and sports tickets into the online age, with ticket holders listing their seats on the site for free and collecting fees from both buyers and sellers.
However, the service has faced criticism over high prices for popular events. Despite this, it has won loyal users due to its guarantee that tickets are legitimate. Other online ticket resellers have emerged in StubHub’s wake, including Ticketmaster, which has also ventured into the secondary market.
StubHub was sold to eBay Inc. in 2007 and Baker subsequently bought it back for $4 billion in February 2020. Despite facing challenges, the company managed to recover due to its substantial cash cushion. With sales rising again after the COVID-19 pandemic, StubHub is now focusing on growth potential through offering tickets directly from artists and teams.
Baker believes that the market for originally issued tickets is inefficient and ineffective, often causing stress and frustration for consumers and leaving many seats empty. By going public, Baker aims to capitalize on this inefficiency and create a more effective ticketing system.
Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stubhub-co-founder-takes-tortuous-233927966.html