The company behind the Enhanced Games, the upcoming sports event that allows athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision, started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. Its stock jumped as much as 20% on day one.
Enhanced Group Inc. opened at $8.03 a share under the ticker “ENHA” and closed at $9.70, up 20.80% from the open. The company went public by merging with A Paradise Acquisition Corp., a blank-check firm, in a deal that values the business at $1.2 billion.
Chief Executive Maximilian Martin rang the closing bell with other executives, joined by Olympic athletes signed on to compete in the inaugural games.
“Today represents a transformative moment for Enhanced as we begin our journey as a publicly traded company,” Martin said in a press release.
The listing comes about two weeks before the first Enhanced Games, set for May 24 at a purpose-built complex at Resorts World Las Vegas. The card features swimming, sprinting and weightlifting. Martin says world champions, Olympic medalists and world record holders have committed to compete.
The Enhanced Games handle drug testing differently from traditional sports federations. They don’t do it. Athletes will compete under what the company calls strict medical supervision and scientific oversight, and substances that would draw a ban at the Olympics or World Athletics events are allowed.
The sporting event is the most public-facing part of the business, but it isn’t the whole company. Enhanced Group also runs the Live Enhanced consumer platform, with a proprietary supplement line and telehealth services. Its Enhanced Performance Product line markets protocols and products focused on recovery and performance.
In a letter to shareholders Friday, Martin framed the event as broader than a competition. “More than a competition, we are showcasing the highest medical and clinical standards in sport while producing an event that provides something for each audience member,” he wrote.
Analysts had a mixed read on the trading. Shares had fallen about 25% in the week before the listing as the SPAC transition played out, and analysts at InvestingPro said the stock looked undervalued at current levels. After-hours trading saw the price slip about 2% to $9.50.
Marathon and distance running events aren’t on the schedule for this first edition. The May 24 card sticks to swimming, sprinting and weightlifting, though the league has discussed expanding into more sports if the launch goes well.
For runners, the Enhanced model is a clear break from how endurance sport has handled doping for decades. World Athletics and the World Anti-Doping Agency have spent years and significant budgets keeping banned substances out of competition. Enhanced is going the other way. The company says supervised drug use can produce faster, stronger athletes while remaining safe.
Critics, including some athletes and anti-doping officials, say the format could put competitors at risk and undo years of clean sport work. Supporters argue that doping is already widespread in elite sport, and bringing it into the open with medical oversight beats pretending it isn’t happening.
The May 24 event will show investors, athletes and skeptics whether the model works in practice.
