StubHub slips in tepid debut

** Ticket-selling platform StubHub STUB.N slips in its NYSE debut on Weds after long-awaited IPO priced within expectations

** STUB opened at $25.35 vs $23.50 IPO price and traded as high as $27.89. But the stock is recently down 3% at $22.81

** New York-based STUB late Tues said it sold about 34 mln shares in middle of $22-$25 range for total raise of $800 mln

** Led by co-founder Eric Baker, STUB achieved a valuation of roughly $8.6 bln at the IPO price

** This as the IPO market is continuing a strong comeback after the Labor Day holiday

** STUB had eyed going public since at least 2022, first via a direct listing, and then paused its IPO plans in Apr as tariff-driven volatility shut down the new listings market

** The IPO comes as Live Nation's LYV.N Ticketmaster was being probed by U.S. regulators over whether it’s done enough to keep bots from illegally reselling tickets on its platform, Bloomberg News reported on Mon

** JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs leading a 14-firm underwriting syndicate for STUB's IPO. (Click here for the offering prospectus)