Ari Emanuel’s gambit to take Endeavor private, a notion reported by Bloomberg and then elaborated upon brilliantly by my partner Matt Belloni, reeks to me of opportunism. Of course, longtime loyal readers know that the whims and vicissitudes of Ari and Endeavor have long been of interest to me. Ari first attempted to take Endeavor public, in 2019, after amassing a series of live-events businesses adjacent to his core talent agencies. But, alas, the market didn’t understand the synergy of assets, or Ari’s idea for them, and the listing got pulled at the last minute due to weak investor demand. Eventually, though, Ari being Ari, in April 2021, Endeavor raised $511 million in an I.P.O. priced at $24 a share that valued Endeavor at $10.3 billion. (Puck is a client of WME, Endeavor’s talent agency.)