Covid-19: S&P Global downgrades financial rating of Endeavor, parent company of IMG and the UFC

The US credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has lowered the rating of the US holding company Endeavor, parent company of the media and marketing rights agency IMG and of the UFC, on 13/04/2020. Endeavor's financial rating was downgraded from B ("highly speculative") to CCC+ ("substantial risk").

"We believe the level of financial risk could motivate the company to seek a distressed debt restructuring if Coronavirus containment does not occur by midyear so that revenue can begin to recover. Even when production restarts, which we currently assume would be in the next few months, it might not be sufficient to offset the impact from cancelled or postponed events. In addition, the recessions currently underway in the US and Europe are likely to put additional pressure on Endeavor's revenue model," said the credit ratings agency, while the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has claimed the lives of over 171,200 people worldwide as of 21/04/2020.

Endeavor, which also owns the artists' management company WME, laid off 250 people in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The company had…