StubHub Upcoming IPO: Punching its ticket to the Public Market?

Online ticket marketplace StubHub has its sights set on an IPO late this summer, eyeing a valuation of $16.5 billion, according to The Information.³ That valuation is in line with when StubHub raised money in late 2021, the publication reports, but if StubHub can't get within the ballpark of that valuation now, it may call off the IPO.

In a separate article from The Information, Martin Peers, the publication's New York bureau chief, argues that reaching that valuation is unrealistic. Instead, he writes, a valuation of $8 billion or less would be more reasonable, based on comparisons to companies like Vivid Seats, a smaller ticket marketplace.⁴ Vivid Seats has a market cap of a little over $1 billion.⁵

So, it remains to be seen whether StubHub’s IPO plans will actually materialize. One sign of its long-term commitment is that the company has reportedly been working with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs for two years on a StubHub IPO.⁶

It's worth noting that StubHub also explored going public via a direct listing in early 2022, with Bloomberg reporting at the time that the valuation could be over $13 billion,⁷ although those plans never materialized.

StubHub: company background

StubHub has become one of the top ticket sites in the world — particularly for resale tickets — since its founding in 2000. Originally called LiquidSeats, the company was founded by Eric Baker and Jeff Fluhr, who thought of the idea for the company as part of a competition at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where the two were classmates.⁸

Baker left the company in 2004 and went on to start a similar site in the UK called Viagogo, while retaining an ownership stake in StubHub.⁹ Fluhr stayed on as CEO until 2007, when eBay acquired StubHub for $310 million.¹⁰

More than a decade later, Baker made his way back to StubHub when Viagogo bought StubHub from eBay in February 2020 for $4.05 billion in cash.¹¹ In 2021, however, the UK Competition and Markets Authority required Viagogo to sell off StubHub's international business outside North America, and that part of the business was ultimately acquired by Digital Fuel Capital.¹²

While it hasn't been the smoothest trajectory from startup to potential public company, StubHub now looks to be on that path. Of note, StubHub hired Connie James as CFO in 2023 to help take the company public this year, according to The Information. James was previously CFO at Light & Wonder, a publicly traded company in the gambling industry.¹³

Recovering from the pandemic

In some sense, Viagogo's acquisition of StubHub couldn't have come at a worse time, as the deal closed a month before the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc worldwide, bringing live entertainment events to a halt. That caused StubHub to quickly cut its staff by around two-thirds. ¹⁴

However, StubHub and the live entertainment industry as a whole have bounced back. The event ticket sales sub-industry was up 61% in 2023 compared to 2019, according to Consumer Edge data. ¹⁵

Yet with the growth of competitors like SeatGeek, StubHub hasn't fully recaptured its pre-pandemic market share. But StubHub has steadily been clawing its way back, with its market share up 3% in 2023 compared to 2021. ¹⁶

Another wrinkle is the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit against LiveNation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster. ¹⁷ If the Justice Department's lawsuit does further increase competition, that could be a positive for StubHub. ¹⁸

Meanwhile, StubHub's average ticket price in 2023 was up 60% compared to 2019, higher than its main competitors. Yet in the first quarter of 2024, prices started to drop a bit, perhaps suggesting some price sensitivity. ¹⁹

Still, tours from big names like Taylor Swift and Beyonce have shown that live events can drum up massive consumer interest. ²⁰ Overall, Goldman Sachs projects that live music will have a compound annual growth rate of 6.6% from 2024-2030.²¹

StubHub stock price history

Data for StubHub’s stock price is not currently available, though Forge is working on obtaining more financial information before a potential IPO. Given the company's ownership changes over the years, that has complicated the availability of data compared to some other startups on an IPO trajectory.

StubHub funding history and private market valuation

StubHub funding totals have added up to $59.2 million over the years, dating back to the StubHub Series A in 2000, according to Crunchbase.²² However, that does not necessarily tell the full story, as StubHub has not followed a smooth trajectory of funding rounds the way that some other startups have. Instead, StubHub has been acquired more than once, with eBay buying the company in 2007 for $310 million²³ and Viagogo buying it in 2020 for $4.05 billion.²⁴

Now, as StubHub potentially plans an IPO, it is reportedly eyeing a valuation close to $16.5 billion, around where it was valued in 2021.²⁵

StubHub is currently owned by Viagogo; other key investors include Declaration Partners and The Najafi Companies.²⁶

Looking ahead

StubHub's potential IPO plans could quickly materialize over the next few months if all goes according to plan, but with skepticism over StubHub's ability to reach its target valuation, there's also a risk that the company abandons its current IPO path.

Check back here or take a look at Forge’s upcoming IPO calendar to stay in the loop about a possible StubHub IPO and other pending public offerings.

If you’re interested in investing in private companies like StubHub before they go public, read more about pre-IPO investing or register on Forge Markets today to get started.