IFL Shares Break Free - MMAUniverse.com

Christmas came early for the North Jersey co-founders of the newly publicly traded International Fight League due to a dramatic run-up in the price of their company's stock.

IFL Commissioner Kurt Otto, an architectural designer and real estate investor from Haworth, owns stock valued at $111 million, based on Monday's closing price of $12 a share.

His partner, Gareb Shamus, a publishing entrepreneur from Tenafly, owns IFL stock valued at about $95 million.

The founding duo's shares were worth $28 million and $24 million, respectively, when the stock began trading at about $3 on Nov. 29.

The shares took a wild ride on Monday, reaching a high of $15.45 before tumbling and closing down $2.45, or 17 percent, from Friday's closing price.

Still, the company's market value stood at $409 million, up from $102 million when the shares began trading publicly less than three weeks ago.

Otto, who came up with the idea of a league for mixed martial arts teams about three years ago, is the company's largest shareholder with a 27.2 percent stake. Shamus, who is CEO of the league, holds a 23.2 percent stake.

Analysts attributed much of the run-up to a "60 Minutes" segment Dec. 10 that reported on the growing popularity of mixed martial arts. Two IFL coaches – Renzo Gracie of the New York-based Pitbulls and Pat Miletich of the Silverbacks, based in Moline, Ill. -- were prominently featured in the report.

The IFL's shares climbed more than $9 last week, and trading volume surged in the wake of the "60 Minutes" report.

Otto and Shamus founded the IFL in 2005. It is the first mixed martial arts league and one of only a handful of sports entities to go public.

The league is composed of 12 teams of eight fighters each who use a blend of boxing, wrestling, karate and other styles. The league has 11 events planned for 2007, including a match at Continental Arena in August.

Shamus said in an interview before the company's stock went public that having the IFL's shares traded in the public markets would help bring publicity to the company. That seems to be the case.

Shamus was travelling Monday and unavailable for comment.

The IFL became a publicly traded company by completing a reverse merger with a failed biotechnology company called Paligent. In a reverse merger, shareholders of an existing publicly traded company agree to acquire a privately held company with the understanding that the private company will emerge as dominant once the deal is completed.

Article Source: NorthJersey.com