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One Championship Parent Mulls IPO Amid U.S. Push

  • One Championship may switch plans from a SPAC merger to an IPO.
  • The MMA company is looking to grow its North American audience.
One-Championship
One Championship

The parent company of mixed martial arts brand One Championship is making structural changes, including its plans to go public.

Group One Holdings is now exploring an initial public offering after previously making plans for a SPAC merger, according to Bloomberg.

  • The company is also reportedly relocating its legal home base from Singapore to the Cayman Islands.
  • Previously, One Championship had linked with Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs on a potential SPAC merger.
  • The MMA company raised $150 million from Guggenheim Investments and the Qatar Investment Authority in December 2021 at a $1.35 billion valuation.

Primed to Go

One Championship has been fighting for the North American audience.

The company secured a multiyear streaming rights deal with Amazon Prime Video, which kicks in on Aug. 26.

“They have 200 million subscribers,” said One Championship vice president Rich Franklin. “This is going to open up the U.S. and Canadian audience for us coming to the U.S., so this is Phase 1.”

The deal calls for Amazon to stream at least 12 events each year.

“They’re the home of ‘Thursday Night [Football],’ and so this was a no-brainer for us,” Franklin added.

One Championship has been hosting all its fights at Singapore Indoor Stadium, but has plans to bring events to the U.S.

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