Event services company Encore has filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering. The company is seeking to raise an estimated $500 million, according to Renaissance Capital, in an effort to reduce its long-term debt of $2.3 billion. The company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as ‘ECR’.
In the filing, dated 10 April, the Blackstone-backed company disclosed financial losses for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025. For the 2025 fiscal year, Encore recorded a net loss of $27.2 million with revenue totalling $3.4 billion, compared to a net loss of $176.1 million on revenue of $3.2 billion a year prior.
Encore provides live event production and audio-visual technology for business events and meetings, largely through preferred supplier agreements with venues and master service agreements (MSA) with hotel chains including Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and Marriott.
“We sign contracts at the individual venue for each of our approximately 2,200 venues whereby they establish Encore as the exclusive on-site provider of event technologies in that property,” Encore explained in the filing. “While these contracts do not preclude outside event technology providers coming into the venues to support individual events, and event planners retain the option to use outside providers, the contracts do prevent non-Encore team members and technology from being in-house at these venues.”
Throughout the prospectus, Encore detailed the growing importance of in-person meetings in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and said average event spend in its core market (hotel-based corporate events) has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 8 per cent to 10 per cent since 2019.
The company also reported an 88 per cent increase in average revenue per event from 2019 to 2025, citing “widespread adoption by customers” across its venue partners with an 80 per cent capture rate. To capture the remaining 20 per cent, the company said it has launched a “strategic plan” for venue partners that includes “commission-aligned incentives” and “local decision authority to speed approvals”, according to the SEC filing.
The Illinois-based company has a strong presence in the US, while its global footprint includes more than 800 venues across 23 countries. It acquired UK-based event production company Eclipse in 2025 to grow its presence in the UK, and also has plans to expand in “high-growth markets” such as Spain and Singapore.
This is the second IPO attempt by Encore following a previous filing in 2016, when it was then known as PSAV. Blackstone later acquired the business in 2018 and rebranded it as Encore in 2021.
Industry stakeholders raise concerns
Following news of Encore’s IPO intentions, industry stakeholders this week took to social media to raise their concerns.
Alisa Stewart, senior global event strategist at meetings and events agency Maritz, warned Encore's IPO could further drive-up AV prices in an already inflated market.
“The pricing pressure flowing to your groups isn't easing – it's intensifying,” she said in a LinkedIn post. “When a company goes public, prices go up. It's a pattern, not a prediction.”
Andrew Hoag, category manager – meetings & events at Biogen, added: “I don't see how this dynamic [pressure from shareholders as a publicly-listed company] will be good for the planners, but it was bound to happen eventually. My prediction: watch for more aggressive exclusivity enforcement with hotel chains because any impact to strategic partnerships will have to be disclosed during earnings calls.”
Lauren Rios, VP of sales and marketing at events agency Platinum XP, also commented: “The incentive structure on the venue side often outweighs what’s actually best for the production itself. More transparency like this [through quarterly earnings calls] only helps everyone make informed decisions.”