Fantex Postpones Arian Foster IPO After Injury

Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images(SAN FRANCISCO) — Confirming reports that Houston Texans’ running back Arian Foster will undergo season-ending back surgery, Fantex, Inc. said it is postponing Foster’s initial public offering, which had been planned  for later this month.

Foster was injured in a Texans-Colts game last week.

Fantex Holdings, a new company based in San Francisco, announced last month that it registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission its first tracking stock linked to the “value and performance of the brand” of the Houston Texans’ Pro Bowl running back.

Fantex previously had said it hoped its first initial public offering for Foster, 27, would take place by late November. Foster was paid $10 million for a 20 percent stake in his future earnings. Earlier this month, Fantex announced that it is planning for a similar tracking stock for 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, 29. Fantex said it is paying Davis $4 million to acquire a 10 percent minority interest in Davis’ “brand income.” Davis suffered a concussion on Sunday and left a game in the first half.

Though the company declined to comment to ABC News about Davis, it said it hopes to continue the offering for Foster in the future.

“After consideration, we have made the decision to postpone the offering for Fantex Arian Foster,” Buck French, CEO, Fantex, Inc., said in a statement. “We feel this is a prudent course of action under the current circumstances.  We continue to support Arian and his brand, and we wish him well in his recovery. We will continue to work with him through his recovery and intend to continue with this offering at an appropriate time in the future based on an assessment of these events.”

Fantex Holdings, which did not respond to a request for comment, is the parent company to Fantex Inc., the brand-building arm of the business.

Financial advisors interviewed by ABC News have expressed reservations, calling the investment a risky bet.

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