Business

John Kavanagh linked to company that has raised millions for chain of MMA gyms and online platform

Conor McGregor’s coach has assisted in the development of exclusive training programmes, says company

John Kavanagh, best known for coaching Conor McGregor, is connected with a company that has raised $6.5m on the NYSE American exchange for small cap stocks, Photograph: Gary Carr/Inpho

Barry J Whyte
Tue Apr 2 2024 - 06:00

John Kavanagh, Conor McGregor’s coach, is behind a company that has raised $6.5 million (€6 million) on the NYSE American exchange, which lists small cap stocks. The funds are to be used to help develop a chain of MMA gyms with an associated online platform.

New filings to the NYSE American show that the company, Alta Global Group Limited, began trading on the exchange in late March and floated 1.3 million shares at a price of $5.00 each. Its shares closed at $4.18 on Thursday, its first day of trading.

The company, which was originally founded in Australia, said that $2.2 million of the money raised in the initial public offering would go towards growing its customer base in North America, Asia and Europe.

A further $1 million would go towards investing in technology, nearly $700,000 towards paying down some existing debt, while the remainder will be used for general working capital, the prospectus says.

READ MORE

Alta Global, which trades under the ticker symbol MMA, began life as a mixed martial arts training company in Australia, before expanding through a number of acquisitions. In its current form it aims to sell an MMA training programme to amateurs and people looking for exercise programmes, both through a network of partner gyms and through its online and social media platforms.

The company notes in its prospectus that “there are currently over 45,597 martial arts and combat sports gyms in the US alone that are expected to generate over $12.6 billion in annual revenue in 2023″.

It has signed up a number of former professional coaches to promote the company and use its training programme, including Mr Kavanagh.

The company says that “Mr Kavanagh has assisted in the development of the training programmes available exclusively on our platform and offers these programmes at his prominent gym, SBG Ireland, in Dublin”, while he also “assisted us in engaging other globally recognised partner gym communities”.

Mr Kavanagh is described in the prospectus as a co-founder of the company, but according to the prospectus he does not hold any executive or board position. The prospectus also does not set out whether Mr Kavanagh has any shares in the company. He is, however, a director of a wholly owned Irish subsidiary called Wimp 2 Warrior (Ireland) Limited. Mr Kavanagh was contacted for comment.

Financial statements included with the prospectus note that it made an operating loss of A$20.5 million (€12.3 million) in 2023 and a loss of A$11.1 million in 2022. It notes in the document that it “may continue to incur net losses in the future”. It had an accumulated deficit to date of A$38.3 million (€23.1 million).

It further states that it expects its “research and development and management and administration expenses will continue to increase and, as a result, we will need additional capital to fund our operations, which we may raise through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, other third-party funding”.

The company has raised around A$31 million through the sale of shares and loan notes, and that it may need to raise further funds in the future.

Its directors note that the company’s auditors have noted a “substantial doubt related to our ability to continue as a going concern”.

LATEST STORIES